Display panel, display device, and terminal device

ABSTRACT

A translucent liquid crystal display panel ( 2 ) includes pixel pairs as display units each formed by a left-eye pixel ( 4 L) and a right-eye pixel ( 4 R) and arranged in a matrix shape. A through hole ( 4 Ld) arranged in a color layer ( 4 Lc) of a color filter has a slit shape whose longitudinal direction is identical to the orientation direction of a cylindrical lens ( 3   a ) constituting a lenticular lens ( 3 ). Similarly, a through hole ( 4 Rd) arranged in a color layer ( 4 Rc) of a color filter has a slit shape whose longitudinal direction is identical to the orientation direction of the cylindrical lens ( 3   a ) constituting the lenticular lens ( 3 ). This suppresses the phenomenon that a hue is changed by a field-of-view angle and/or an external light condition on the translucent display panel capable of displaying an image directed to a plurality of viewpoints.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 12/306,763 filedon Dec. 29, 2008, which is a National Stage of PCT/JP2007/062948 filedon Jun. 27, 2007, which claims foreign priority to Japanese ApplicationNo. 2006-176331 filed on Jun. 27, 2006. The entire contents of each ofthe above applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a semi-transmissive type display panel,a display device, and a terminal device capable of displaying imagestowards a plurality of viewpoints, and particularly relates to providinga display panel, a display device, and a terminal device capable ofsuppressing a phenomenon of color aberrations occurring due to anviewing angle and/or external light conditions.

BACKGROUND ART

Display apparatus capable of displaying three-dimensional images havebeen examined for many years. According to the Greek mathematicianEuclid in 280 B.C., “binocular vision is the sensation experienced whenthe same object is viewed at the same time by left and right eyesviewing separate images looked at from different directions”. It istherefore necessary for a function of a three-dimensional image displaydevice to be to provide individual images to the left and right eyeswith a mutual parallax.

A large number of three-dimensional image display methods haveconventionally been examined as specific methods of implementing thisfunction. These methods can be substantially divided into methods usingglasses and methods that do not use glasses. Of these methods, anaglyphmethods utilizing differences in color and polarizing glasses methodsutilizing polarization exist as methods using glasses. However, it isbasically not possible to eliminate the bothersomeness of having to wearglasses. Methods that do not use glasses have therefore been extensivelyexamined in recent years.

Lenticular lens methods and parallax barrier methods exist as methodsthat do not use glasses. The lenticular lens method was invented inapproximately 1910 by Ives et. Al. The parallax barrier method wasconceived by Berthier in the year 1896, and verified by Ives in the year1903.

A parallax barrier is a light blocking plate (barrier) formed with alarge number of thin vertical stripe-shaped apertures extending inmutually parallel directions, i.e. formed with slits. A display panel isarranged at a rear surface of the parallax barrier. Pixels for left eyeand right eye use are then repeatedly arranged at the display panel in adirection orthogonal to a lengthwise direction of the slits. The lightfrom each pixel is therefore partially shielded while passing throughthe parallax barrier. Specifically, the pixels are arranged so thatlight from a pixel for left eye use reaches the left eye of a viewer butthe light directed towards the right eye is shielded, while light from apixel for the right eye reaches the right eye but does not reach theleft eye. As a result, the light from respective pixels reaches the leftand right eyes. It is therefore possible for the observer to recognizethree-dimensional images.

FIG. 59 is a perspective view showing a binocular three-dimensionalimage display device using a parallax barrier of the related art, andFIG. 60 is a view showing an optical model for this three-dimensionalimage display device. As shown in FIGS. 59 and 60, a transmission typeliquid crystal display panel 1021 is provided in the three-dimensionalimage display device of the related art, with display pixels beingprovided in a matrix shape at this transmission type liquid crystaldisplay panel 1021. A left eye pixel 1043 and a right eye pixel 1044 areprovided at each display pixel. The left eye pixel 1043 and the righteye pixel 1044 are defined by a light shielding section 1006. The lightshielding section 1006 is arranged in order to prevent color mixing ofthe image and to transmit a display signal to the pixel.

A parallax barrier 1007 is provided at the front surface of the liquidcrystal display panel 1021, i.e. on the observer side and a slit 1007 aextending in one director is formed in the parallax bather 1007. Theslit 1007 a is arranged corresponding to a pair of the left eye pixel1043 and the right eye pixel 1044. A light source 1010 is provided atthe rear surface of the liquid crystal display panel 1021.

As shown in FIG. 60, after light irradiated from the light source 1010has passed through the left eye pixel 1043 and the right eye pixel 1044of the transmission type liquid crystal display panel 1021, part of thelight is shielded while passing through the slit 1007 a of the parallaxbarrier 1007 and the remaining light is emitted towards respectiveregions of EL and ER. This means that a left eye image is inputted tothe left eye 1052 and a right eye image is inputted to the right eye1051 because the observer has their left eye 1052 positioned at theregion EL and has their right eye 1051 positioned at the region ER. Theviewer can therefore recognize a three-dimensional image.

When the parallax barrier method was first conceived, there was aproblem that visibility was poor because the parallax barrier wasarranged between the display panel and the eyes. However, with liquidcrystal displays devices implemented in recent years, it has becomepossible to arrange the parallax barrier at the rear of the displaypanel, with visibility improving as a result. Such liquid crystaldisplay devices are currently actively being examined and have recentlybeen made into actual products (for example, refer to non-patentliterature 1). The product disclosed in non-patent literature 1 is aparallax barrier type of three-dimensional image display device using atransmission type liquid crystal panel.

On the other hand, the lenticular lens method is a three-dimensionalimage display method that uses a lenticular lens as an optical elementfor implementing three-dimensional displaying. A lenticular lens is alens with one flat surface, and with a plurality of semi-cylindricalprojections (cylindrical lenses) extending in one direction formed atthe other surface. Pixels displaying right eye images and pixelsdisplaying left eye images are alternately arranged at a focal plane ofthis lens. One projecting section corresponds to one row of displayunits each comprised of one right eye pixel and one left eye pixelarranged in one direction. The light from each pixel is thereforedivided in half in directions towards the left and right eyes by thelenticular lens. It is therefore possible for mutually different imagesto be recognized by the left and right eyes and it is possible for theobserver to recognize a three-dimensional image.

FIG. 61 is a perspective view showing a binocular three-dimensionalimage display device using a lenticular lens of the related art, andFIG. 62 is a view showing an optical model for this three-dimensionalimage display device. As shown in FIGS. 61 and 62, a transmission typeliquid crystal display panel 2021 is provided in the three-dimensionalimage display device of the related art, with display pixels beingprovided in a matrix shape at this transmission type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2021. A left eye pixel 2043 and a right eye pixel 2044 areprovided at each display pixel. A lenticular lens 2003 is provided atthe front surface of the liquid crystal display panel 2021, i.e. on theobserver side. A cylindrical lens 2003 a that is a semi-cylindricalprojecting section extending in one direction mutually in parallel isformed at the lenticular lens 2003. This cylindrical lens 2003 a isarranged corresponding to two pixels of the transmission type liquidcrystal display panel 2021, i.e. to one pair of a left eye pixel 2043and a right eye pixel 2044. A light source 2010 is provided to the backsurface side of the liquid crystal display panel 2021.

As shown in FIG. 62, after light irradiated from the light source 2010passes through the left eye pixel 2043 and the right eye pixel 2044 ofthe transmission type liquid crystal display panel 2021, the light isrefracted by the cylindrical lens 2003 a and emitted towards the regionsEL and ER. This means that a left eye image is inputted to the left eye2052 and a right eye image is inputted to the right eye 2051 because theobserver has their left eye 2052 positioned at the region EL and hastheir right eye 2051 positioned at the region ER. It is thereforepossible for the observer to recognize three-dimensional images.

The parallax barrier method is a method where unnecessary light is“shielded” by a barrier, whereas the lenticular lens method is a methodthat changes the direction of travel of the light. This means that, intheory, the brightness of the display screen does not fall compared to aflat display even when displaying three-dimensionally. Application istherefore being examined in particular to terminal devices such asmobile equipment that requires both high brightness displaying and lowpower consumption and performance.

Simultaneous multiple image displaying devices that display a pluralityof images at the same time have also been developed as other imagedisplay devices using a lenticular lens (for example, refer to patentliterature 1). FIG. 63 (FIG. 10 of patent literature 1) is a schematicdiagram showing a simultaneous multiple image displaying device of therelated art disclosed in patent literature 1, and FIG. 64 is a diagramexplaining the working of this simultaneous multiple image displayingdevice. As shown in FIG. 63, a simultaneous multiple image displayingdevice 3001 of the related art has a lenticular lens 3003 arranged at afront surface of the CRT 3002.

As shown in FIG. 64, the simultaneous multiple image displaying deviceof the related art disclosed in patent literature 1 utilizes a functionof dividing the image using the lenticular lens so as to enable imagesthat are different for every direction of observation to be displayed atthe same time under the same conditions. As a result, it is possible fora single simultaneous multiple image displaying device to simultaneouslyprovide mutually different images to a plurality of viewers positionedin mutually different directions with respect to this display device. Inpatent literature 1, it is disclosed that by using this simultaneousmultiple image displaying device, it is possible to reduce bothfootprint and electricity costs compared to the usual case where oneimage display devices are prepared just for the number of images wishedto be displayed at the same time.

On the other hand, with terminal devices such as mobile equipment, easeof portability and length of usage time are important factors. It istherefore wished to reduce power consumption so that driving for longperiod of time is possible even with small, lightweight batteries thatare capable of accumulating only a small amount of electrical power.Further, situations of use in extremely bright locations outdoors occurfrequently. It is therefore necessary to make the brightness of thescreen high every one minute in order to ensure sufficient visibility inbright locations. It is therefore preferable to use semi-transparentliquid crystal display devices as display devices satisfying suchrequirements.

With display devices using liquid crystal, the liquid crystal moleculesthemselves do not emit light. It is therefore necessary to use some kindof light in order to view the display. Typical liquid crystal displaydevices can be substantially divided into transmission type, reflectingtype, and a semi-transmissive type display devices combining bothtransmitted light and reflected light, depending on the type of lightsource used. Low power consumption is possible with the reflecting typedisplay devices because external light is utilized in displaying.However, display performance such as for contrast is degraded uponcomparison with transmission type display devices. Transmission type andsemi-transmissive type display devices therefore currently constitutethe mainstream for liquid crystal displays devices. With transmissiontype and semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display devices, a lightsource device is installed at the back surface of the liquid crystalpanel, with displaying then being implemented utilizing light emitted bythis light source device. In particular, small and medium-sized liquidcrystal display devices are carried by the observer and used in varioussituations. A semi-transmissive liquid crystal display device having ahigh degree of visibility can therefore be used in any situation byviewing a reflective display in bright locations, and viewing atransmission display in dark locations.

FIG. 65 is a plan view showing a first semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display device of the related art as disclosed in non-patentliterature 2. As shown in FIG. 65, with the first liquid crystal displaydevice of the related art, each of pixels 4040 of a semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel 4022 are divided into three colorregions of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). Each color region is thendivided into a transmission region and a reflective region. That is, thepixel 4040 is divided into six regions of a transmission region (red)4041R, a reflective region (red) 4042R, a transmission region (green)4041G, a reflective region (green) 4042G, a transmission region (blue)4041B, and a reflective region (blue) 4042B. The semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display device of the related art disclosed in non-patentliterature 2 is a display device capable of implementing both reflectivedisplaying and transmission displaying and is not a three-dimensionalimage display device or a simultaneous multiple image displaying device.A lenticular lens or parallax barrier etc. are therefore not provided.

With the first semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display device ofthe related art, a metal film (not shown) is formed at the surface ofthe side contacting the liquid crystal of the glass substrate of therear side, of two sheets of glass substrate of the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel 4022 at each reflective region. Thismetal film then reflects external light. As a result, at thetransmission region, light from the light source (not shown) istransmitted through the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal panel(not shown) and an image is formed. Further, at the reflective region,external light such as natural light and illuminating light within aroom is transmitted through the liquid crystal layer. This light is thenreflected by the metal film and is again transmitted through the liquidcrystal layer so as to form an image. It is therefore possible toutilize external light as part of the light source at locations wherethe external light is very bright. As a result, upon comparison with thetransmission type liquid crystal display device, the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display device is capable of suppressing powerconsumption required to maintain brightness of the display screen andilluminate the light source.

With this semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display device, it isone time light from a backlight is transmitted at the color filter layercorresponding to a transmission section; while the external light istransmitted two times, once when incident, and once when emitted, at acolor filter layer corresponding to a reflective section. When the colorfilter layer is similarly arranged at the transmission section and thereflective section, there is a problem that the transmissivity of thereflective section falls and the color of the display becomes denser.Technology is therefore proposed where a region corresponding to thereflective section is configured from a region where a color filterlayer is formed and a region where a color filter layer is not formed.

FIG. 66 is a plan view showing a second semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display device of the related art as disclosed in non-patentliterature 2. As shown in FIG. 66, the second semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display device of the related art includes a reflectiveelectrode 5003 and a transparent electrode 5008 formed in prescribedshapes on a lower side substrate 5001 and includes a color filter layer5011 formed on a color filter substrate arranged facing the lower sidesubstrate 5001. A signal electrode 5021 for driving the electrodes, ascanning electrode 5022, and a thin-film transistor (TFT) 5023 arrangedin the vicinity of an intersecting section of the two types ofelectrodes are formed at the periphery of the reflective electrode 5003and the transparent electrode 5008. Further, the color filter layer 5001includes three types of filter layer, a red color filter layer 5001 a, agreen color filter layer 5011 b, and a blue color filter 5011 c. Eachcolor filter layer of each respective color is formed so as not tooverlap with the whole of the reflective electrode 5003 but to alwaysoverlap with the whole of the transmission electrode 5008. That is, aregion is formed where the whole of the transparent electrode 5008 iscovered by the color filter layer 5011, whereas the reflective electrode5003 is not covered by the color filter layer 5011.

With the second semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display device ofthe related art, a region is provided where the color filter layer isnot formed at the reflective section. The problem where the color forreflective displaying becomes darker than for transmission displaying istherefore suppressed by displaying white at the region where the colorfilter layer is not formed and mixing colors with light that istransmitted through the color filter layer. It is therefore possible toimplement bright reflective displaying.

-   Non-patent literature 1: Nikkei Electronics No. 838, Jan. 6,    2003, p. 26-27 (table 1)-   Non-patent literature 2: Nikkei microelectronics supplement “flat    panel display”, Nikkei BP p. 108-113 (FIG. 4)-   Patent literature 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI    Publication No. 06-332354 (FIG. 9, FIG. 10)-   Patent literature 2: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI    Publication No. 2000-111902 (FIG. 1)

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, when a three-dimensional image display device and asemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display device are combined as inthe related art described above, the following problems occur. The colordensity of the reflective displaying changes depending on theobservation position and the external light conditions and partialdiscoloration can be seen.

In order to resolve the above problems, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a display panel, a display device, and a terminaldevice capable of suppressing a phenomenon of color aberrationsoccurring due to the viewing angle and/or external light conditions in asemi-transmissive type display panel capable of displaying respectiveimages directed towards a plurality of viewpoints.

Means for Solving the Problems

A display panel of a first aspect of the invention of this applicationis comprised of a plurality of display units including at least pixelsfor displaying a first viewpoint image and pixels for displaying asecond viewpoint image arranged in the shape of a matrix, an opticalmember, for splitting in mutually different directions light emittedfrom each pixel within the display unit provided along a first directionalong which the pixels for displaying the first viewpoint image and thepixels for displaying the second viewpoint image are arranged; colorfilter layers each provided at at least the display region of eachpixel; and a through-hole provided at the color filter layer of eachpixel of the width of the through-hole in the first direction is thewidth of the display region or more.

The present invention can be configured with the through-hole existingat any position in the first direction that is the light splittingdirection. As a result, it is possible to prevent the through-holes frombeing distributed unevenly only a certain specific portions, and it ispossible to suppress a phenomenon where color aberrations occur due tothe viewing angle and/or light source conditions.

The display panel of a second aspect of the invention of thisapplication comprises a plurality of display units including at leastpixels for displaying a first viewpoint image and pixels for displayinga second viewpoint image arranged in the shape of a matrix, an opticalmember, for splitting in mutually different directions light emittedfrom each pixel within the display unit provided along a first directionalong which the pixels for displaying the first viewpoint image and thepixels for displaying the second viewpoint image are arranged; colorfilter layers each provided at at least the display region of eachpixel, and a through-hole provided at the color filter layer of eachpixel. Here, the width of the through-hole in the first direction is thewidth of the display region or more. The through-hole forms a shapedivided with respect to the first direction, and the optical member doesnot have an image forming relationship with the pixels.

In the present invention, it is possible to display an image for thethrough-hole in a gradated manner because the optical member has noimage forming relationship with the pixels. It is therefore possible toreduce the influence of the through-holes and it is possible to suppresscolor aberrations. It is therefore possible to improve the degree offreedom of arrangement of the through-holes and displaying quality canalso be improved.

A display panel of a third aspect of the invention of this applicationis comprised of a plurality of display units including at least pixelsfor displaying a first viewpoint image and pixels for displaying asecond viewpoint image arranged in the shape of a matrix, an opticalmember, for splitting in mutually different directions light emittedfrom each pixel within the display unit provided along a first directionalong which the pixels for displaying the first viewpoint image and thepixels for displaying the second viewpoint image are arranged; colorfilter layers each provided at at least the display region of eachpixel, and a through-hole provided at the color filter layer of eachpixel of the width of the through-hole in the first direction is thewidth of the display region or more. The plurality of pixels fordisplaying the first viewpoint image and the plurality of pixels fordisplaying the second viewpoint image each include a pixel that has thethrough-hole in a position different from other pixels.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent therelative positions of the through-holes at each pixel from being thesame for all pixels and it is possible to reduce the influence of thethrough-holes using pixels of different through-hole positions. Thismeans that it is possible to reduce a phenomenon of color aberrationsoccurring as a result of the viewing angle and/or light sourceconditions.

A third aspect of the invention of this application is suitable forapplication to display panels using thin-film transistors. Inparticular, when the position of the through-hole is restricted as aresult of using thin-film transistors and storage capacitors used incombination with the thin-film transistors, a preferred application ispossible where the position is changed for the thin-film transistorsetc. using line units. For example, by arranging the positions ofthin-film transistors etc. within the pixels symmetrically about aY-axis in line units, appropriate combination with the positions of thethrough-holes of the present invention is possible.

Effect of the Invention

According to the present invention, in a semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display element having transmission regions and reflectiveregions where through-holes are formed at color layers of the colorfilters at reflective regions, it is possible to implement uniformreflective displaying by arranging through-holes in such a manner thatan image splitting effect of an image splitting optical element such asa lenticular lens, fly-eye-lens, or parallax barrier is reduced, and itis possible to suppress a phenomenon of color aberrations occurring as aresult of the viewing angle and/or external light conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A plan view showing a display panel of a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2A perspective view showing a display device of the firstembodiment.

FIG. 3A perspective view showing a terminal device of the firstembodiment.

FIG. 4A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along apixel transmission region at a line segment parallel with an X-axisdirection for a semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel ofthis embodiment.

FIG. 5A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region that does not include through-holes at a line segmentparallel with an X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 6A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 7A plan view showing a display panel of a first comparative exampleof the present invention.

FIG. 8A perspective view showing a display device of the firstcomparative example.

FIG. 9A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of the first comparative example.

FIG. 10A plan view showing a display panel of a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 11A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 12A plan view showing a display panel of a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 13A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 14A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 15A diagram showing an optical model for the case of using a lensof a focal length smaller than a distance between lens pixels in asemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 16A cross-sectional view for calculating the focal length of thecylindrical lens constituting the lenticular lens in this embodiment.

FIG. 17A perspective view showing a fly-eye-lens.

FIG. 18A plan view showing a display panel of a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 20A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 21A plan view showing a display panel of a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 22A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 23A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 24A diagram showing an optical model for the case of using a lensof a focal length larger than a distance between lens pixels in asemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 25A cross-sectional view for calculating the focal length of thecylindrical lens constituting the lenticular lens in this embodiment.

FIG. 26A plan view showing a display panel of a sixth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 27A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 28A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 29A plan view showing a display panel of a seventh embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 30A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 31A plan view showing a display panel of an eighth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 32A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 33A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 34A diagram showing an optical model for the case of using a lensof a parallax barrier in a semi-transmissive type liquid crystal displaypanel of this embodiment.

FIG. 35A plan view showing a display panel of a ninth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 36A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 37A diagram showing an optical model in cross-section taken along areflective region including a through-hole at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction for the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 38A perspective view showing a terminal device of a tenthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39A plan view showing a display panel of this embodiment.

FIG. 40A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 41A plan view showing a display panel of an eleventh embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 42A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 43A plan view showing a display panel of a twelfth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 44A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 45A plan view showing a display panel of a thirteenth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 46A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 47A plan view showing a display panel of a fourteenth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 48A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 49A plan view showing a display panel of a fifteenth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 50A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 51A plan view showing a display panel of a sixteenth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 52A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 53A plan view showing a display panel of a seventeenth embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 54A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 55A plan view showing a display panel of an eighteenth embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 56A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 57A plan view showing a display panel of a nineteenth embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 58A perspective view showing a display device of this embodiment.

FIG. 59A perspective view showing a binocular three-dimensional imagedisplay device using a parallax barrier of the related art;

FIG. 60A diagram showing an optical model for this three-dimensionalimage display device.

FIG. 61A perspective view showing a binocular three-dimensional imagedisplay device using a lenticular lens of the related art.

FIG. 62A diagram showing an optical model for this three-dimensionalimage display device.

FIG. 63A schematic view showing a simultaneous multiple image displayingdevice of the related art disclosed in patent literature 1.

FIG. 64A view illustrating the operation of the simultaneous multipleimage displaying device.

FIG. 65A plan view showing a first semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay device of the related art as disclosed in non-patent literature2.

FIG. 66A plan view showing a second semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display device of the related art as disclosed in non-patentliterature 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERALS

-   1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 10, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115,    116, 117, 118, 119; three-dimensional image display device-   2, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225,    226, 227, 228, 229; semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display    panel-   3, 31, 32, 33; lenticular lens-   3 a, 31 a, 32 a, 33 a; cylindrical lens-   4L, 41L, 42L, 43L, 44L, 45L, 46L, 47L, 401L, 402L, 403L, 404L, 405L,-   406L, 407L; left eye pixel-   4R, 41R, 42R, 43R, 44R, 45R, 46R, 47R, 401R, 402R, 403R, 404R, 405R,-   406R, 407R; right eye pixel-   4F; first viewpoint pixel-   4S; second viewpoint pixel-   4La, 41La, 42La, 43La, 44La, 45La, 46La, 47La, 401La, 402La, 403La,    404La, 405La, 406La, 407La, 4Ra, 41Ra, 42Ra, 43Ra, 44Ra, 45Ra, 46Ra,    47Ra, 401Ra, 402Ra, 403Ra, 404Ra, 405Ra, 406Ra, 407Ra, 4Fa, 4Sa;    transmission region-   4Lb, 41Lb, 42Lb, 43Lb, 44Lb, 45Lb, 46Lb, 47Lb, 401Lb, 402Lb, 403Lb,    404Lb, 405Lb, 406Lb, 407Lb, 4Rb, 41Rb, 42Rb, 43Rb, 44Rb, 45Rb, 46Rb,    47Rb, 401Rb, 402Rb, 403Rb, 404Rb, 405Rb, 406Rb, 407Rb, 4Fb, 4Sb;    reflective region-   4Lc, 41Lc, 42Lc, 43Lc, 44Lc, 45Lc, 46Lc, 47Lc, 401Lc, 402Lc, 403Lc,    404Lc, 405Lc, 406Lc, 407Lc, 4Rc, 41Rc, 42Rc, 43Rc, 44Rc, 45Rc, 46Rc,    47Rc, 401Rc, 402Rc, 403Rc, 404Rc, 405Rc, 406Rc, 407Rc, 4Fc, 4Sc;    color layer-   4Ld, 41Ld, 42Ld, 43Ld, 44Ld, 45Ld, 46Ld, 47Ld, 401Ld, 402Ld, 403Ld,    404Ld, 405Ld, 406Ld, 407Ld, 4Rd, 41Rd, 42Rd, 43Rd, 44Rd, 45Rd, 46Rd,    47Rd, 401Rd, 402Rd, 403Rd, 404Rd, 405Rd, 406Rd, 407Rd, 4Fd, 4Sd;    through-holes-   4Le, 41Le, 42Le, 43Le, 44Le, 45Le, 46Le, 47Le, 401Le, 402Le, 403Le,    404Le, 405Le, 406Le, 407Le, 4Re, 41Re, 42Re, 43Re, 44Re, 45Re, 46Re,    47Re, 401Re, 402Re, 403Re, 404Re, 405Re, 406Re, 407Re, 4Fe, 4Se;    light shielding region-   51; right eye-   52; left eye-   6; fly-eye lens-   7; parallax barrier-   7 a; slit-   8; planar light source-   9, 91; mobile telephone-   1021; transmission type liquid crystal display panel-   1043; left eye pixel-   1404; right eye pixel-   1006; light shielding section-   1007; parallax barrier-   1007 a; slit-   1010; light source-   1051, 2051; right eye-   1052, 2052; left eye-   2021; transmission type liquid crystal display panel-   2043; left eye pixel-   2044; right eye pixel-   2003; lenticular lens-   2003 a; cylindrical lens-   2010; light source-   3001; simultaneous multiple image displaying device-   3002; CRT-   3003; lenticular lens-   4022; semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel-   4040; pixel 4040-   4041R; transmission region (red)-   4042R; reflective region (red)-   4041G; transmission region (green)-   4042G; reflective region (green)-   4041B; transmission region (blue)-   4042B; reflective region (blue)-   5001; lower substrate-   5003; reflective electrode-   5008; transmission electrode-   5011; color filter layer-   5011 a; red color filter layer-   5011 b; green color filter layer-   5011 c; blue color filter layer-   5021; signal electrode-   5022; scanning electrode-   5023; thin-film transistor (TFT)

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following is a detailed description with reference to the appendeddrawings of a display panel, a display device, and a terminal device ofthe embodiments of the present invention. First, an explanation is givenof a display panel, a display device, and a terminal device of a firstembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing adisplay panel of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing adisplay device of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showinga terminal device of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the display panel of the first embodiment is asemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2 equipped with alenticular lens 3. With this semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2, each pixel pair that is a display unit constituted byone left eye pixel 4L and one right eye pixel 4R is provided in a matrixshape. The lenticular lens 3 is a lens array with a large number ofcylindrical lenses 3 a one dimensionally arranged. The direction ofarraying of the cylindrical lenses 3 a is arranged in the directionwhere the left eye pixels 4L and the right eye pixels 4R are repeatedlyarranged. A direction of elongation of the cylindrical lenses 3 a, i.e.a longitudinal direction is a direction orthogonal to the direction ofarraying of the cylindrical lenses 3 a within a display surface. Asshown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical lenses have semi-cylindricalprojections. In FIG. 1, this shape is depicted in an exaggerated manner.In reality, the surface parallel to the surface where the pixels areformed is depicted as rectangular and a projecting shape does notappear. This is the same in plan views showing cylindrical lensesoccurring in other embodiments.

In this specification, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set asshown below for simplicity. In the direction where the left eye pixel 4Land the right eye pixel 4R, repeatedly arranged, a direction from theleft eye pixel 4L towards the right eye pixel 4R is taken to be a +Xdirection, and the opposite direction is taken to be a −X direction. The+X direction and the −X direction are then totaled to give an X-axisdirection. Further, a longitudinal direction of the cylindrical lens 3 ais taken to be a Y-axis direction. Further, a direction orthogonal toboth the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is taken to be aZ-axis direction. A direction going from the left eye pixel 4L or theright eye pixel 4L towards the lenticular lens 3 is taken to be a +Zdirection, in the opposite direction is taken to be a −Z direction. The+Z direction is forwards, i.e. a direction towards the observer. Theuser views the surface of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2 on the +Z side. The +Y direction is taken to be adirection where a right-hand coordinate system is established. That is,the thumb of a person's right-hand is taken to be the +X direction, theindex finger is taken to be the +Y direction, and the middle finger istaken to be the +Z direction.

When the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, the direction ofarraying of the cylindrical lenses 3 a becomes the X-direction, and theleft eye pixels 4L and the right eye pixels 4R are each arranged in arow in the Y-axis direction. The array interval for the pixel pairs inthe X-direction is approximately equal to the array interval for thecylindrical lenses. In this X-direction, a row constituting one pair ofpixel pairs arranged in the Y-axis direction corresponds to the onecylindrical lens 3 a.

A transmission region 4La for transmission display and a reflectiveregion 4Lb for reflective display are provided at the left eye pixel 4L.The transmission region 4La and the reflective region 4Lb are formed soas to divide the left eye pixel 4L into two equal halves along theY-axis direction. The region on the −Y direction side is then thetransmission region 4La, and the region on the +Y direction side is thenthe reflective region 4Lb.

The reflective region 4Lb is formed with, for example, a metal film (notshown) such as, for example, aluminium, at a surface contacting with aliquid crystal layer (not shown) at a glass substrate (not shown)positioned in a −Z direction of the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 2. Light that is incident from the front and thatis transmitted through the liquid crystal layer of the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel is reflected by the metal film and isagain transmitted through the liquid crystal layer so as to be emittedtowards the front.

A color layer 4Lc for implementing color displaying is provided at thetransmission region 4La and the reflective region 4Lb of the left eyepixel 4L. The color layer 4Lc is formed using an organic film (notshown) containing, for example, pigment, at a surface making contactwith the liquid crystal layer (not shown) at the glass substrate (notshown) positioned in a +Z direction of the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 2. Light incident from the front that is incidentto the color layer 4Lc of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2 is again reflected by the metal film after beingtransmitted through the liquid crystal layer so as to once again betransmitted through the liquid crystal layer. The light is then againtransmitted through the color layer 4Lc and is emitted towards thefront. On the other side, light incident to the semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 2 from the rear is transmitted through thecolor layer 4Lc after being transmitted through the liquid crystal layerand is emitted towards the front.

A slit-shaped through-hole 4Ld is provided at part of the color layer4Lc of the reflective region 4Lb. This slit-shaped through-hole 4Ld isarranged at the end in the +Y direction in the reflective region 4Lb.The width of this slit in the X-axis direction is the width of thedisplay region of the left eye pixel 4L in the X-axis direction or more,and the width of this slit in the Y-axis direction is fixed regardlessof the coordinates in the X-axis direction. That is, the side formed bythe slit-shaped through-hole 4Ld in the +Y direction and the side in the−Y direction are arranged so as to be parallel. In one example, thewidth of the through-hole 4Ld in the Y-axis direction is set to be halfof the width of the reflective region 4Lb in the Y-axis direction.

A light shielding region 4Le is provided at the transmission region 4Laand the reflective region 4Lb of the left eye pixel 4L. The lightshielding region 4Le is a region provided in order to prevent theinfluence of neighboring pixels being viewed at the time of display, andin order to be a light shielding for wiring etc. As with the color layer4Lc, the light shielding region 4Le is formed using an organic film (notshown) containing, for example, black pigment, at a surface contactingwith a liquid crystal layer (not shown) at a glass substrate (not shown)positioned at a +Z direction of the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 2.

The right eye pixel 4R has a structure that is exactly the same as theleft eye pixel 4L but the positional relationship with respect to thecorresponding cylindrical lens 3 a is different to that of the left eyepixel 4L. That is, a transmission region 4Ra, a reflective region 4Rb, acolor layer 4Rc, a slit-shaped through-hole 4Rd, and a light shieldingregion 4Re are the same configurational elements as for each left eyepixel 4L and are arranged as the configurational elements of the righteye pixel 4R.

FIG. 1 shows one pair of a left eye pixel and a right eye pixel of thedisplay panel and one cylindrical lens corresponding to this pair ofpixels. Further, the pixels are arranged at the focal surface of thecylindrical lens. That is, the distance between a principal point of thecylindrical lens (portion inclined projecting most in the +Z direction)and a pixels is set to be a focal length of the cylindrical lens.

As shown in FIG. 2, and the display device of this first embodiment is athree-dimensional image display device 1 with a flat light source 8provided at a rear surface of the display panel i.e. at the −Z side. Theflat light source 8 is a light source operating as a backlight in thetransmission displaying of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2 that enables transmission displaying to be viewed byutilizing the light emitted by the flat light source 8.

As shown in FIG. 3, this display device 2 is mounted on, for example, adisplay unit of a mobile telephone 9. That is, the mobile telephone 9that is a terminal device of this embodiment is equipped with thedisplay device 2. The Y-axis direction that is the longitudinaldirection of the cylindrical lens 3 a shown in FIG. 1 constitutes avertical direction of the screen of the three-dimensional image displaydevice 1, i.e. a perpendicular direction. The X-axis direction that isthe arraying direction of the cylindrical lens 3 a constitutes alongitudinal direction of the screen of the three-dimensional imagedisplay device 1, i.e. the horizontal direction. At this mobiletelephone 9, the three-dimensional image display device 1 is driven by abattery (not shown) built into the mobile telephone 9.

Next, an explanation is given of the operation of the three-dimensionalimage display device of this embodiment so structured as describedabove. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an optical model in cross-sectiontaken along a transmission region of a pixel at a line segment parallelwith the X-axis direction at the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an opticalmodel in cross-section taken along a reflective region that does notinclude through-holes at a line segment parallel with an X-axisdirection at the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section taken along a reflective region including a through-holeat a line segment parallel with the X-axis direction for thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2 shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, a signal is inputted to the semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 2 from an external control device (notshown) and the left eye pixel 4L and the right eye pixel 4R display aleft eye image and a right eye image, respectively. In this situation,the flat light source 8 emits light and this light is incident to thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2. Of the lightincident to the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2,the light incident to the reflective regions 4Lb and 4Rb is reflected bythe metal film acting as a reflective plate. This light then againbecomes incident to the flat light source 8 without being transmittedthrough the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2. Onthe other hand, light incident to the transmission regions 4La and 4Rais transmitted through the liquid crystal layer and the color layers 4Lcand 4Rc positioned at the transmission regions 4La and 4Ra of thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2 and becomesincident to the lenticular lens 3. Light emitted by the flat lightsource 8 is transmitted through the transmission regions 4La and 4Ra,becomes incident to the lenticular lens 3, and transmission displayingis realized. At this time, this light is only transmitted through thecolor layers 4Lc and 4Rc one time.

As shown in FIG. 5, external light such as natural light andilluminating light goes from the front, is transmitted through thelenticular lens 3, and is incident to the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 2. Of the light incident to the liquid crystaldisplay panel 2, the light incident to the reflective regions 4Lb and4Rb present at the color layers 4Lc and 4Rc is transmitted through thecolor layers 4Lc and 4Rc of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2. The light is then transmitted through the liquidcrystal layer, is reflected by the metal film, and is again transmittedthrough the liquid crystal layer. The light is then again transmittedthrough the color layers 4Lc and 4Rc and is then incident to thelenticular lens 3. That is, external light incident to the reflectiveregions 4Lb and 4Rb present at the color layers 4Lc and 4Rc istransmitted through the color layers 4Lc and 4Rc two times. On the otherhand, light incident to the transmission regions 4La and 4Ra istransmitted to the rear of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 2, i.e. is transmitted to the side of the flat lightsource 8 and does not contribute directly to displaying. External lightsuch as natural light and illuminating light is then transmitted throughthe reflective regions 4Lb and 4Rb, is incident to the lenticular lens3, and reflective displaying is realized.

As shown in FIG. 6, of the external light coming from the front that istransmitted through the lenticular lens 3 and incident upon thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2, light that isincident to the through-holes 4Ld and 4Rd at the reflective regions 4Lband 4Rb where the color layers 4Lc and 4Rc do not exist is transmittedthrough the liquid crystal layer of the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 2 and is reflected by the metal film. The light isthen again transmitted through the liquid crystal layer and is incidentto the lenticular lens 3. That is, external light incident to thethrough-holes 4Ld and 4Rd is basically not transmitted through the colorlayers 4Lc and 4Rc. As shown in FIG. 6, in the X-axis direction, thewidth of the through-hole 4Ld is the width of the display region for theleft eye pixel 4L or more. Further, the width of the through-hole 4Rd isthe width of the display region for the right eye pixel 4R or more. Thethrough-holes are therefore formed consecutively along the X-axisdirection and are not divided into parts.

Light from the flat light source 8 incident to the lenticular lens 3 orexternal light such as natural light and illuminating light is refractedby each of the cylindrical lenses 3 a, and splitted into mutuallydifferent directions that are orthogonal to the Y-axis direction that isthe longitudinal direction of the cylindrical lens 3 a. The direction ofpropagation of this light is inclined along the X-axis direction withrespect to the optical axis plane of the cylindrical lens 3 a. As aresult, light emitted from the transmission region 4La and thereflective region 4Lb of the left eye pixel 4L is directed towards theregion EL, and light emitted from the transmission region 4Ra and thereflective region 4Rb of the right eye pixel 4R is directed towards theregion ER. When an observer then positions their left eye 52 at theregion EL and positions their right eye 51 that the region ER, it ispossible to observe a three-dimensional image.

The lenticular lens 3 is a set of one dimensional cylindrical lenses.The lens effect is therefore not inherent with regards to the Y-axisdirection that is the longitudinal direction and the light is not splitin the Y-axis direction. At the left eye pixel 4L, the transmissionregion 4La, the reflective region 4Lb existing at the color layer 4Lc,and the reflective region 4Lb having the through-hole 4Ld are arrangedin the Y-axis direction. Similarly, the transmission region 4Ra, thereflective region 4Rb present at the color layer 4Rc, and the reflectiveregion 4Rb having the through-hole 4Rd are also arranged in the Y-axisdirection for the right eye pixel 4R. Light emitted from the left eyepixel 4L and the right eye pixel 4R is split along the X-axis directionthat is the direction of arraying of the cylindrical lenses. However,light emitted from the transmission region 4La and the reflective region4Lb of the left eye pixel 4L is mixed without being split and goestowards the same region EL, and light emitted from the transmissionregion 4Ra and the reflective region 4Rb of the right eye pixel 4R ismixed without being split and is directed towards the same region ER.Similarly, with the light emitted from the reflective regions 4Lb and4Rb, light emitted from the region where the color layers 4Lc and 4Rcare present and light emitted from the region having the through-holes4Ld and 4Rd is mixed without being split by the lenticular lens 3 andgoes towards each pixel region. It is therefore possible to implementuniform reflective displaying without the influence of the through-holesnot just in the Y-axis direction, but also in the X-axis direction andit is therefore possible to suppress the phenomenon where coloraberrations occur due to the viewing angle and the external lightconditions.

Next, an explanation is given of the effects of this embodiment.According to the display panel of this embodiment, it is possible toimplement uniform reflective displaying that is not influenced by thethrough-holes by forming the through-holes of the color layers occurringat the reflective regions in a slit shape extending in an arrayingdirection of the lenticular lenses and it is possible to suppress thephenomenon of color aberrations occurring due to the viewing angleand/or external light conditions. Moreover, a through-hole region wherea color layer is not formed in a reflective section is provided. It istherefore possible to suppress the problem of the color for reflectivedisplaying being denser than for transmission displaying by displayingwhite at regions where the color layer is not formed and mixing lightthat passes through the color layer. It is therefore possible to achievebright reflective displaying.

Regarding the semi-transmissible liquid crystal display panel of thepresent embodiment, the present invention can be applied if adopting aconfiguration where the reflective region formed with a through-hole andthe transmission region are provided each pixel. The semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel of this embodiment is substantiallynot influenced by the ratio of the reflective region and thetransmission region, and the ratio of the through-holes. This embodimentcan also be similarly applied to fine reflective type liquid crystaldisplay panels where the ratio of the transmission regions is large, andto fine transmission type liquid crystal display panels where the ratioof the reflective regions is large. The proportion of through-holesoccurring at the reflective region, i.e. the width of the slits in theY-axis direction can be different depending on the type of color layer.

An explanation has been given for the through-holes in this embodimentwhere the width in the Y-axis direction is fixed regardless of theX-axis direction coordinates. However, it is not essential for each sideof a through-hole to be parallel with the X-axis. For example, it isalso possible for a through-hole to have a side inclined from the X-axisdirection. That is, it is sufficient for the width of the through-holein the Y-axis direction to always be fixed.

At the boundary regions for neighboring pixels, the color layers can becontinuous or discontinuous. However, it is preferable for the colorlayers to be continuous when the neighboring pixels have color layers ofthe same color. It is therefore possible to improve adhesion of thecolor layers and the yield at the time of manufacture can be improved.However, it is preferable for the color layers to be discontinuous whenthe neighboring pixels have color layers for different colors. Whencolor layers of different colors are stacked up, undulation of thesurface becomes substantial. This is because in doing so, abnormalorientation of the liquid crystal molecules occurs and displayingquality is degraded.

An explanation has been given in this embodiment of when through-holesare formed in the reflective region. However, the present invention isby no means limited in this respect and can be similarly applied tocases where the through-holes are formed the transmission region. Thisembodiment can be similarly applied not only to semi-transmissive typedisplay elements but also to reflective type display elements ortransmission type display elements so as to implement uniform displayingthat is not influenced by the through-holes.

Moreover, in this embodiment an explanation is given where a color layeris formed on a surface contacting with a liquid crystal layer at a glasssubstrate positioned in the +Z direction of the semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel. However, the present invention is by nomeans limited in this respect, and the color layer can be formed atother locations. In one example, the color layer can be formed at asurface contacting with the liquid crystal layer of the glass substratepositioned in the −Z direction of the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel, i.e. formed between a metal film acting as areflective plate and a liquid crystal layer at the reflective region. Inthis way, when the color layer is formed on the substrate forming thereflective plate, it is possible to position the color layer and thereflective plate with a high degree of precision. It is thereforepossible to enlarge the region of the display panel contributing todisplaying and it is then possible to improve the reflection rate andthe transmission rate.

Further, a method for driving the liquid crystal display panel can be anactive matrix method such as a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) method or TFD(Thin Film Diode) method, or a passive matrix method such as an STN(Super Twisted Nematic liquid crystal) method. The display panel can beprovided with a transmission region and a reflective region at eachpixel but the liquid crystal display panel is by no means limited inthis respect.

In this embodiment, an explanation is given of the case of a binocularthree-dimensional display device provided with only the left eye pixelsand the right eye pixels but the present invention is also applicable toN-occular devices (where N is an integer greater than 2).

In this embodiment, in addition to color displaying using color filters,it is also possible to display color images using a method for lightingwhere light sources for a plurality of colors share time. It istherefore possible to reduce color mixing and displaying of broad colorbands is also possible.

In this embodiment, an explanation is given using a lenticular lenshaving an optical member for image splitting. However the presentinvention is by no means limited in this respect, and it is alsopossible to use a parallax barrier where a large number of slits arearranged in an X-axis direction. Whereas a lenticular lens isthree-dimensional in shape and has structure in a height direction, aparallax barrier has a planar two dimensional shape that can easily bemade using photolithographic technology and lower costs are thereforepossible.

In this embodiment, a mobile telephone is shown as a terminal device butthe present invention is not limited in this respect. The display deviceof this embodiment can not only be applied to mobile telephones, but canalso be applied to various portable terminal apparatus such as PDAs(Personal Digital Assistants), game equipment, digital cameras, anddigital video cameras. The display device of this embodiment can also beapplied not only to portable terminal devices, but also to variousterminal devices such as notebook personal computers, cash dispensers,and automatic vending machines.

The above is a summary of the first embodiment of the present invention.The display panel of this embodiment comprises a plurality of displayunits including at least pixels for displaying a first viewpoint imageand pixels for displaying a second viewpoint image arranged in the shapeof a matrix, an optical member, for splitting in mutually differentdirections light emitted from each pixel provided along a firstdirection along which the pixels for displaying the first viewpointimage and the pixels for displaying the second viewpoint image arearranged, within the display unit; color filter layers each provided atat least the display region of each pixel; and a through-hole providedat the color filter layer of each pixel. The width of the through-holein the first direction is the width of the display region or more. Inthe present invention, it is possible to reduce the influence of thethrough-holes and it is possible to reduce the phenomenon of coloraberrations occurring due to the viewing angle and/or the light sourceconditions.

It is also preferable for the width of the through-holes in the seconddirection orthogonal to the first direction at the display surface ofthe display panel to be fixed regardless of the first direction. As aresult, it is possible to completely eliminate the influence of thethrough-holes and it is possible to reduce the phenomenon of coloraberrations occurring due to the viewing angle and/or the light sourceconditions.

The display panel can also be a semi-transmissive type display panelhaving transmission regions and reflective regions at the displayregion, with the through-holes being provided at the reflective regions.It is therefore possible to implement uniform reflective displaying thatis not influenced by the through-holes and it is possible to suppressthe phenomenon of color aberrations occurring due to the viewing angleand the external light conditions.

It is also possible for the optical member to be a lenticular lens wherea plurality of cylindrical lenses provided every row of the display unitextending in a second direction that is the longitudinal direction arearranged in the first direction. There is therefore no loss of light andbright displaying is possible.

It is also possible for the display device equipped with the displaypanel of the present invention to display three-dimensional images wherethe first direction is a horizontal direction of the screen, the firstviewpoint image is the left eye image, and the second viewpoint image isa right eye image having a parallax with respect to the left eye image.It is therefore possible to implement superior three-dimensionaldisplaying.

Next, an explanation is given of a first comparative example for thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel of the presentinvention. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a display panel of the firstcomparative example. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the displaydevice of the first comparative example. FIG. 9 is a view showing anoptical model in cross-section cut along a reflective region including athrough-hole along a line segment parallel with the X-axis direction atthe semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 8.The first comparative example differs from the first embodiment of thepresent invention described above in that the first comparative exampleshows the case where a through-hole that resembles the shape of thereflective region and is smaller than the reflective region is providedat a central part of the reflective region.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, at a semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 21 of a three-dimensional image display device 11shown in the first comparative example, the point of using a left eyepixel 41L and a right eye pixel 41R is different compared to thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 2 of the firstembodiment. That is, at the left eye pixel 41L, a transmission region41La, a reflective region 41Lb, and a light shielding region 41Le areinstalled in the same way as is for the first embodiment but the shapeof a through-hole 41Ld provided at a color layer 41Lc is different. Inthe first comparative example, the shape of the through-hole 41Ldresembles the shape of the reflective region 41Lb at a central part ofthe reflective region 41Lb and is formed so as to be smaller than thereflective region. The width of the through-hole 41Ld in the X-axisdirection is formed so as to be half of the width of the reflectiveregion 41Lb in the X-axis direction, and the width in the Y-axisdirection is formed so as to be half of the width of the reflectiveregion 41Lb in the Y-axis direction.

It is also possible for the shape of a through-hole 41Rd to be the sameshape as the left eye pixel 41L at the right eye pixel 41R. Theconfiguration of this comparative example other than that describedabove is the same as for the first embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of the operation of the display device ofthe first comparative example configured as described above. As shown inFIG. 9, at the reflective regions 41Lb and 41Rb of the first comparativeexample, when external light from the front, which is transmittedthrough the lenticular lens 3 and incident to the semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 21, is incident to the reflective regions41Lb and 41Rb present at the color layers 41Lc and 41Rc, the light istransmitted through the color layers 41Lc and 41Rc of thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 21. Next, the lightis transmitted through the liquid crystal layer and is reflected by thefilm. The light is then again transmitted through the liquid crystallayer, is again transmitted through the color layers 41Lc and 41Rc, andis incident to the lenticular lens 3. That is, external light incidentto the reflective regions 41Lb and 41Rb where the color layers 41Lc and41Rc exist is transmitted through the color layers 41Lc and 41Rc twotimes.

On the other hand, the external light incident to the through-holeregions 41Ld and 41Rd at the reflective regions 41Lb and 41Rb where thecolor layers 41Lc and 41Rc do not exist is transmitted through theliquid crystal layer of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 21. The light is then reflected by the metal layer andagain transmitted through the liquid crystal. The light is then incidentto the lenticular lens. That is, external light incident to thethrough-holes 41Ld and 41Rd is basically not transmitted through thecolor layers 41Lc and 41Rc.

In this comparative example, in the X-axis direction where thelenticular lens 3 has a lens effect, regions where the through-holes41Ld and 41Rd are formed and regions where the through-holes 41Ld and41Rd are not formed are repeatedly arranged. A result, when externallight is transmitted through the through-holes 41Ld and 41Rd, theexternal light transmitted through the color layers 41Lc and 41Rc isseparated along an X-axis direction that is the direction of arraying ofthe cylindrical lenses. This is to say that light transmitted throughthe through-hole 41Ld goes towards the region EL1 and light transmittedthrough the through-hole 41Rd goes towards the region ER1.

As described above, the light transmitted through the through-holes iswhite light. The regions EL1 or ER1 are a color closer to white comparedto the other regions EL or ER. At the regions EL1 or ER1, the quantityof external light that is absorbed by the color layers 41Lc and 41Rc issmall compared to the regions EL and ER and displaying of a highreflectance therefore takes place. As a result, when the observerpositions their left eye 52 at the region EL1 and positions their righteye 51 at the region ER1, the observer views a display that is brightbut is low in color purity. On the other hand, when an observerpositions their left eye 52 at the region EL and positions their righteye 51 at the region ER, the observer views a display where the colordensity is dark. This phenomenon changes depending on the external lightcharacteristics and is particularly noticeable when parallel light suchas sunshine is incident.

When nonuniform through-holes are formed in the lens arraying direction,the quality of reflective displaying is substantially degraded due tothe influence of the through-holes and color aberrations occur due tothe viewing angle, i.e. the viewing angle and/or the external lightconditions.

Next, an explanation is given of a second embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 22 and a three-dimensional image displaydevice 12 of the second embodiment differ from the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel 2 and three-dimensional image displaydevice 1 of the first embodiment in that a left eye pixel 42L and aright eye pixel 42R are used.

That is, at the left eye pixel 42L, a transmission region 42La, areflective region 42Lb, and a light shielding region 42Le are installedin the same way as for the first embodiment but the shape of athrough-hole 42Ld provided at a color layer 42Lc is different. In thefirst embodiment, the through-hole 42Ld is slit-shaped and the width ofthe opening of the through-hole in the Y-axis direction is fixedregardless of the coordinates in the X-axis direction. With regards tothis, the shape of the through-hole 42Ld in the second embodiment issimilarly slit-shaped but the width of the opening in the Y-axisdirection differs depending on the coordinates in the X-axis direction.In one example, the width of the opening is a maximum at a centralsection in the X-axis direction of the left eye pixel 42L, with theopening width set so as to gradually become smaller towards an end ofthe left eye pixel 42L.

It is also possible for the shape of a through-hole 42Rd to be the sameshape as the left eye pixel 42L at a right eye pixel 42R. Theconfiguration of this comparative example other than that describedabove is the same as for the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the through-holes are formed in the shape of slits.The width of the through-holes in the Y-axis direction is a maximum atcentral parts of each of the left eye pixels and the right eye pixels inan X-axis direction. As a result, regarding changes in color that occurdue to the position in the X-axis direction, the width of thethrough-holes also changes gradually. The changes in color are thereforealso gradual and the extent of discomfort felt by the observer istherefore reduced. This is because the lenticular lens has the effect ofenlarging the pixels. That is, the pixels are enlarged by the lenticularlens. Partial discoloration caused by differences in the heights of theopenings of the through-holes, i.e. differences in width in the Y-axisdirection therefore depend on the viewing angle in the X-axis direction.In other words, discoloration does not occur at the display surface, butthe color changes when the angle of viewing the display changes. In thisembodiment, the width of the through-holes in the Y-axis directionchanges gradually depending on the position in the X-axis direction.This means that changes in color depending on the viewing angle alsotake place gradually. It is therefore difficult for the observer torecognize changes in color depending on the viewing angle. It istherefore possible to reduce the influence of the through-holes byensuring that the width of the through-holes in the Y-axis directionorthogonal to the X-axis direction that is the lens splitting directionchanges gradually depending on the position in the X-axis direction. Thereflectance is also highest at central portions of the pixels. Thismeans that bright reflective displaying is possible.

Further, in this embodiment, the through-holes for each pixel are formedso as to be symmetrical about the Y-axis. For example, at the left eyepixel 42L, the width of the through-hole in the Y-axis direction is amaximum at the central portion in the X-axis direction. When an axis ofsymmetry that is parallel with the Y-axis is arranged at a centralportion in the X-axis direction, the shape of the through-hole isline-symmetrical with respect to the axis of symmetry. The same alsoapplies for the right eye pixel 42R. As a result of the separatingworking of the lenses, a central part in the X-axis direction of theleft eye pixel is viewed by the left eye during normal binocularviewing. Similarly, a central portion of the right eye pixel in theX-axis direction is viewed by the right eye. As a result of theconfiguration of this embodiment, it is possible for the color of theimage viewed by the left eye and for the color of the image viewed bythe right eye to be the same extent. Reduction of discomfort and highpicture quality is therefore possible.

The shape of the through-holes for the left and right pixels are thesame. When moved away from this best position, the colors of the imagesviewed by the left and right eyes similarly change. It is thereforepossible to make the color of images viewed by the left eye and thecolor of images viewed by the right the same extent even at positionsother than the best position for binocular viewing. It is thereforepossible to reduce discomfort and achieve high picture quality.

Taking note of the regions neighboring the left eye pixel and the righteye pixel, the widths of the through-holes in the Y-axis direction areformed to be substantially the same. The width of the through-holes inthe Y-axis direction has a maximum value and a minimum value and changesgradually. This means that it is possible to suppress abrupt changes incolor even when the angle of viewing the display changes and it ispossible to reduce discomfort. The operation and effects of the secondembodiment other than those described above are the same as for thefirst embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a third embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section cut along a reflective region including a through-hole ata line segment parallel to the X-axis direction in the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 13, and FIG. 15 is aview showing an optical model for the case of using a lens of a focallength shorter than the distance between the lens pixels. As shown inFIGS. 12 and 13, a semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel23 and a three-dimensional image display device 13 of the thirdembodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal displaypanel 2 and three-dimensional image display device 1 of the firstembodiment in that a left eye pixel 43L, a right eye pixel 43R, and alenticular lens 31 are used.

At the left eye pixel 43L, a transmission region 43La, a reflectiveregion 43Lb, and a light shielding region 43Le are provided as in thefirst embodiment, but the shape of a through-hole 43Ld provided at acolor layer 43Lc is different. The through-hole 43Ld of this embodimentresembles the shape of the reflective region at the central portion ofthe reflective region 43Lb and is smaller than the reflective region. Inparticular, the width of the through-hole 43Ld in the X-axis directionis smaller than the width of the reflective region 43Lb for the pixel,with a width in the X-axis direction of the through-hole 43Ld being setto half of the pixel pitch or more, and in this example being set to80%. In this embodiment, a description is given of the case where thewidth of the through-hole 43Ld in the X-axis direction is 50 percent ormore of the pixel pitch. It is also possible for the shape of athrough-hole 43Rd to be the same shape as the left eye pixel 43L for theright eye pixel 43R also. As shown in FIG. 14, the through-hole 43Ld anda through-hole 43Rd are divided with respect to the X-axis direction bya color layer 43Lc and a color layer 44Rc.

At the lenticular lens 31, the radius of curvature is small compared tothe lenticular lens 3 of the first embodiment of the present invention,i.e. there is a difference in that a cylindrical lens 31 a of a shortfocal length is used. The configuration of this embodiment other thanthat described above is the same as for the first embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of the operation of the display device ofthe third embodiment configured as described above. As shown in FIG. 14,at the reflective regions 43Lb and 43Rb of the third embodiment, whenthe external light from the front that is transmitted through thelenticular lens 31 so as to be incident to the semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 23 is incident to the reflective regions43Lb and 43Rb present at the color layers 43Lc and 43Rc, the light istransmitted through the color layers 43Lc and 43Rc of thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 23. The light isthen transmitted through the liquid crystal layer, is reflected by themetal film, and is again transmitted through the liquid crystal layer.The light is then again transmitted through the color layers 43Lc and43Rc so as to be incident to the lenticular lens 31. That is, externallight incident to the reflective regions 43Lb and 43Rb where the colorlayers 43Lc and 43Rc exist is transmitted through the color layers 43Lcand 43Rc two times.

On the other hand, the external light incident to the through-holeregions 43Ld and 43Rd at the reflective regions 43Lb and 43Rb where thecolor layers 43Lc and 43Rc do not exist is transmitted through theliquid crystal layer of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 23. The light is then reflected by the metal layer andagain transmitted through the liquid crystal. The light is then incidentto the lenticular lens 31. That is, external light incident to thethrough-holes 43Ld and 43Rd is basically not transmitted through thecolor layers 43Lc and 43Rc.

In the third embodiment, in the X-axis direction where the lenticularlens 31 has a lens effect, regions where the through-holes 43Ld and 43Rdare formed and regions where the through-holes 43Ld and 43Rd are notformed are repeatedly arranged. A result, when external light istransmitted through the through-holes 43Ld and 43Rd, the external lighttransmitted through the color layers 43Lc and 43Rc is separated along anX-axis direction that is the direction of arraying of the cylindricallenses.

However, the radius of curvature of the lenticular lens 31 is set to besmall compared to the first embodiment of the present invention. Theimage formation effect in an observation plane is therefore weak and theimage for the pixels therefore becomes gradated. It is thereforepossible to make separation of colors in the X-axis direction weak andit is possible to reduce dependency on the viewing angle of the colors.

The following is a quantitative explanation of the radius of curvatureof the lenticular lens 31 in this embodiment using FIGS. 14 and 15. Amain point of the lenticular lens 31, i.e. a distance between an apexand a pixel is taken to be H, the reflective index of the lenticularlens 31 is taken to be n, and the lens pitch is taken to be L. The pitchof each one left eye pixel 43L and right eye pixel 43R is taken to be P.At this time, the arrangement pitch of display pixels each comprised ofone left eye pixel 43L and one right eye pixel 43R is 2P. A distancebetween the lenticular lens 31 and the observer is taken to be anoptimum observation distance OD, and a interval for an enlargedprojected image of the pixels occurring at this distance OD, i.e. ainterval for a width of a projected image for the left eye pixel 43L andthe right eye pixel 43R in a virtual plane parallel with the lens andthe distance OD away from the lens is taken to be e. A distance from thecenter of the cylindrical lens 31 a positioned at the center of thelenticular lens 31 to the center of the cylindrical lens 31 a positionedat the end of the lenticular lens 31 in the X-axis direction is taken tobe WL, and a distance from the center of the display pixel constitutedby the left eye pixel 43L and the right eye pixel 43R positioned at thecenter of the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 23 andthe center of the display pixel positioned at the end of thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 23 in the X-axisdirection is taken to be WP. The angle of incidence and the exit angleof light at the cylindrical lens 31 a positioned at the center of thelenticular lens 31 are taken to be α and β, and the angle of incidenceand the exit angle of light at the cylindrical lens 31 a positioned atthe end of the lenticular lens 31 in the X-axis direction are taken tobe γ and δ. The difference between the distance WL and the distance WPis taken to be C, and the number of pixels contained in a region ofdistance WP is taken to be 2m. In FIG. 15, the case is depicted wherethe width of the projected image for the left eye pixel 43L and theright eye pixel 43R where there is little lens gradation is e. However,because the width of the projected image for each of the pixels becomeslarger as the amount of gradation becomes larger, overlapping of theprojected images on both sides also becomes larger and the interval etherefore remains as is. Also in the fourth to ninth embodimentsdescribed after this embodiment, the width of the projected image in thedrawings is shown in the drawings so as to the seen to be the same asthe interval, and in the drawings the width of the projected images isread out as e and the interval for the width of the projected images isalways e. The pitch L of the arrangement of the cylindrical lenses 31 aand the pitch P of the arrangement of the pixels are mutually related insuch a manner that one decides the other. Normally, cases where thelenticular lens is designed in line with the display panel are commonand the arraying pitch P of the pixels is handled as a constant. Arefractive index n is decided by selecting the material for thelenticular lens 31 a. With regards to this, the observation distance ODbetween the lens and the observer and the interval of the enlargedprojected image for the pixels at the observation distance OD is set toa desired value. A distance H between a vertex of a lens and a pixel anda lens pitch L are decided using these values. The following equations 1to 6 are established using Snell's law and geometrical relationships.The following equations 7 to 9 are then established.

[Equation 1]

n×sin α=sin β

[Equation 2]

OD×tan β=e

[Equation 3]

H×tan α=P

[Equation 4]

n×sin γ=sin δ

[Equation 5]

H×tan γ=C

[Equation 6]

OD×tan δ=WL

[Equation 7]

WP−WL=C

[Equation 8]

WP=2×m×P

[Equation 9]

WL=m×L

In the first embodiment of the present invention, a distance H between avertex of a lenticular lens and a pixel is set to be equal to a focallength f off a lenticular lens. The following equation 10 is thereforeestablished, and when the radius of curvature of the lens is taken to ber, the radius of curvature r can be a obtained from the followingequation 11.

[Equation 10]

f=H

[Equation 11]

r=Hx(n−1)/n

The lateral magnification of the lenticular lens can be considered to bethe interval for the enlarged projected image for the pixels divided bythe pixel interval, i.e. divided by the pixel pitch and is thereforee/P.

When the width of the opening in the X-axis direction of thethrough-holes 43Ld and 43Rd is defined as t times the pixel pitch, inthis embodiment, the following equation 12 is established.

[Equation 12]

0.5≦t<1

When defined as described above, the width of the enlarged imageoccurring at the observation plane of the through-hole becomes t×e. Thewidth of the enlarged image for this through-hole is then subtractedfrom the interval for the enlarged projected image for the pixels and isthen divided in half in order to reduce the influence of thethrough-holes in the observation plane. That is, it is preferable forthe images for the pixels to only be gradated by (1−t)×e/2.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the radius of curvature of the lenticular lensis set to be smaller than the value of equation 17, and the image pointfor the lenticular lens is set more to the +Z side than the lens. When adistance from the main point of the lenticular lens to the image pointis taken to be I1, the following equation 13 is established using ananalogous relationship.

[Equation 13]

I1=OD×L/((1−t)×e+L)

The following equation 14 is also established using an invariant ofAbbe.

[Equation 14]

n/I1−1/OD=(n−1)/r1

Here, r1 is the radius of curvature of the lenticular lens when theimage for the pixels is gradated. When r1 is obtained by substitutingequation 13 into equation 14, the following equation 15 can be obtained.

[Equation 15]

r1=OD×(n−1)×L/(n×(1−t)×e+(n−1)×L)

This radius of curvature r1 is a value for implementing the minimumgradation and corresponds to a maximum value for the radius ofcurvature. The radius of curvature r1 is therefore preferably set to therange established for equation 16 in the following.

[Equation 16]

r1≦OD×(n−1)×L/(n×(1−t)×e+(n−1)×L)

In this embodiment, the through-holes are formed in the shape of arectangular opening. It is then possible to reduce the influence ofthrough-holes and suppress color aberrations by setting the radius ofcurvature so that the focal length of the lenticular lens is smallerthan the distance between lens pixels.

The equation 16 merely defines the upper limit for the radius ofcurvature. The separation working of the lens also falls as the radiusof curvature becomes smaller. That is, the lower limit of the radius ofcurvature is a value for where the separation working of the lens isexerted. In other words, a minimum value for the radius of curvatureshould be determined so that the lenticular lens splits light emittedfrom each of the pixels in a direction where the pixels that display thefirst viewpoint image and the pixels that display the second viewpointimage are arranged.

First, a minimum value for the focal length range where the lensseparation working is exerted is calculated. As shown in FIG. 16, inorder for the separation working to be exerted, it is preferable toestablish an analogous relationship at a triangle taking the lens pitchL as a base and taking the focal length f as a height and at a triangletaking the pixel pitch P as a base and taking H-f as a height. It isthen possible for a minimum value for the focal length to be obtainedfrom H×L/(L+P).

Next, the radius of curvature is calculated from the focal length. Usingequation 11, it is possible to obtain a minimum value for the radius ofcurvature from H×Lx(n−1)/(L+P)/n. That is, it is preferable for theradius of curvature to satisfy the equation 16 so as to be this value ormore.

In this embodiment, a description is given of a binocularthree-dimensional image display device having left eye pixels and righteye pixels but the present invention is by no means limited in thisrespect. For example, it is also possible to similarly apply the presentinvention to N viewpoint (where N is a natural number) method displaydevices. In this event, for the definition of the distance WP, it ispreferable to change the number of pixels included in a region for thedistance WP from 2m to N×m.

An explanation has been given in this embodiment using a lenticular lensbut as shown in FIG. 17, it is also possible for the lens element toconsist of fly-eye-lenses 6 arranged two-dimensionally. This opticalmember has an effect of splitting, also in a second direction orthogonalto the first direction within a display plane of the display panel,light emitted from each pixel. As a result, it is possible to viewimages for different viewpoints not only in the first direction but alsoin the second direction.

In this embodiment, an explanation is given where the through-holes areformed in the shape of a rectangular opening. However, the presentinvention is by no means limited in this respect. For example, thethrough-holes can also be circular, ellipsoidal, or polygonal. Thenumber of acute angles for such shapes is small compared to a rectangleand manufacture is therefore straightforward. If the through-holes areformed discontinuously in the X-axis direction that is the direction ofsplitting of the optical elements such as the lenses, the presentinvention can be similarly applied.

The following is a summary of the above third embodiment of the presentinvention. The display panel of this embodiment comprises a plurality ofdisplay units including at least pixels for displaying a first viewpointimage and pixels for displaying a second viewpoint image arranged in theshape of a matrix, an optical member, for splitting in mutuallydifferent directions light emitted from each pixel within the displayunit provided along a first direction along which the pixels fordisplaying the first viewpoint image and the pixels for displaying thesecond viewpoint image are arranged, color filter layers each providedat at least the display region of each pixel, and a through-holeprovided at the color filter of each pixel. The through-hole forms theshape divided by the first direction, and the optical member does nothave an image forming relationship with the pixels. In the presentinvention, it is then possible to reduce the influence of thethrough-holes and suppress color aberrations by displaying thethrough-hole images in a gradated manner. The displaying quality cantherefore be improved because the degree of freedom of arrangement ofthe through-holes can be improved compared to that of the firstembodiment. The operation and effects of the third embodiment other thanthose described above are the same as for the first embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section cut along a reflective region including a through-hole ata line segment parallel to the X-axis direction in the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 19. As shown in FIGS. 18and 19, a semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 24 and athree-dimensional image display device 14 of the fourth embodimentdiffer from the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 23and the three-dimensional image display device 13 of the thirdembodiment in using a left eye pixel 44L and a right eye pixel 44R.

At the left eye pixel 44L, the shape of a through-hole 44Ld provided ata color layer 44Lc differs from that of the third embodiment in being ashape resembling the shape of the reflective region at the central partof a reflective region 44Lb and in being smaller than the reflectiveregion. In particular, the width of the through-hole 43Ld in the X-axisdirection is smaller than the width of the reflective region 43Lb of thepixel, whereas the width of the through-hole 44Ld in the X-axisdirection is half or less than the pixel pitch, and, in one example, isset to 30 percent. In this embodiment, a description is given of, inparticular, the case where the width of the through-hole 44Ld in theX-axis direction is 50 percent or less than the pixel pitch. As shown inFIG. 20, the through-hole 44Ld and a through-hole 44Rd are divided withrespect to the X-axis direction by a color layer 44Lc and a hue 44Rc.

It is also possible for the shape of the through-hole 44Rd to be thesame shape as the left eye pixel 44L at the right eye pixel 44R. Theconfiguration of this embodiment other than that described above is thesame as for the third embodiment.

This embodiment is the same as the third embodiment of the presentinvention with regards to the point that the radius of curvature of thelenticular lens 31 is set to be small, the image forming effect at theobservation playing is weak, and the effect of gradation of the imagefor the pixels is utilized. However, the amount of gradation of theimage for the pixels is different because the width of the opening inthe X-axis direction of the through-holes 44Ld and 44Rd is set to behalf or less of the pixel pitch. In this embodiment, the followingequation 17 is applied in place of equation 12 described above.

[Equation 17]

0<t≦0.5

When defined as described above, as shown in FIG. 20, the width of theenlarged image occurring at the observation plane of the through-holebecomes t×e. It is then preferable for the image for the pixels to begradated by a value that is the width of the enlarged image for thisthrough-hole divided in half, i.e. divided by t×e/2, in order to reducethe influence of the through-holes at the observation plane. In thefollowing, as with the third embodiment, the radius of curvature r2 ofthe lenses is calculated preferably so as to be set at a rangeestablished by the following equation 18.

[Equation 18]

r2≦OD×(n−1)×L/(n×t×e+(n−1)×L)

This embodiment is preferably applied to the case where thethrough-holes are formed in the shape of a rectangular opening and thewidth of the opening in the X-axis direction is small. It is thereforepossible to reduce the amount of gradation and implement a broadstereoscopic band. The operation and effects of the fourth embodimentother than those described above are the same as for the thirdembodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 21 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section cut along a reflective region including a through-hole ata line segment parallel to the X-axis direction at the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 22, and FIG. 24 is aview showing an optical model for the case of using a lens of a focallength longer than the distance between the lens pixels.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, a semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 25 and a three-dimensional image display device 15 of thefifth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 23 and the three-dimensional image display device 13 ofthe third embodiment in using a lenticular lens 32 using cylindricallenses 32 a of a large radius of curvature, i.e. of a long focal length.The configuration of this embodiment other than that described above isthe same as for the third embodiment.

This embodiment is characterized by the points of setting the radius ofcurvature of the lenticular lens 32 to be large, the image formingeffect that the observation plane being weak, and the utilization of thegradation effect for the image of the pixels. The pixels used in thisembodiment of the same as for the third embodiment and equation 18described above is therefore established.

As shown in FIG. 24, the radius of curvature of the lenticular lens isset to be larger than the value of equation 17, and the image point forthe lenticular lens is set more to the −Z side than the lens. When adistance from the main point of the lenticular lens to the image pointis taken to be I2, the following equation 19 is established using ananalogous relationship.

[Equation 19]

I2=OD×L/((1−t)×e+L)

The following equation 20 is further established using an invariant ofAbbe.

[Equation 20]

n/I2−1/OD=(n−1)/r3

Here, r3 is the radius of curvature of the lenticular lens when theimage for the pixels is gradated. When r2 is obtained by substitutingequation 19 into equation 20, the following equation 21 can be obtained.

[Equation 21]

r3=OD×(n−1)×L/(n×(1−t)×e−(n+1)×L)

This radius of curvature r1 is a value for implementing the minimumgradation and corresponds to a minimum value for the radius of curvatureand is therefore preferably set to the range established by equation 22in the following.

[Equation 22]

r3≧OD×(n−1)×L/(n×(1−t)×e−(n+1)×L)

The equation 22 merely defines lower limit for the radius of curvature.The separation working of the lens also falls as the radius of curvaturebecomes larger. That is, the upper limit of the radius of curvature is avalue for where the separation working of the lens can be exerted. Inother words, a maximum value for the radius of curvature should bedetermined so that the lenticular lens splits light emitted from each ofthe pixels into mutually different directions along a direction in whichthe pixels that display the first viewpoint image and the pixels thatdisplay the second viewpoint image are arranged.

First, a maximum value for the focal length range where the lensseparation working can be exerted is calculated. As shown in FIG. 25, inorder for the separation working to be exerted, it is preferable toestablish an analogous relationship at a triangle taking the lens pitchL as a base and taking the focal length f as a height and at a triangletaking the pixel pitch P as a base and taking f-H as a height. It isthen possible for a maximum value for the focal length to be obtainedfrom H×L/(L−P).

Next, the radius of curvature is calculated from the focal length. Usingequation 11, it is possible to obtain a maximum value for the radius ofcurvature from H×Lx(n−1)/(L−P)/n. That is, it is preferable for theradius of curvature to satisfy the equation 22 so as to be this value orless.

The conditions for the lens to split light emitted from each of thesepixels into mutually different directions that are along the directionof arraying of each of the viewpoint pixels are summarized. As disclosedin the third embodiment, the minimum value for the radius of curvaturein order to satisfy these conditions is H×Lx(n−1)/(L+P)/n. As describedabove, the maximum value for the radius of curvature in order to satisfythis condition is H×Lx(n−1)/(L−P)/n. That is, in order for the lens todemonstrate the splitting effects, it is necessary for the curvatureradius to be in a range greater than H×Lx(n−1)/(L+P)/n and less thanH×Lx(n−1)/(L−P)/n. That is, the third to sixth embodiments of thepresent invention therefore exhibit the effect of reducing the influenceof these through-holes by adding the further restriction of this range.

In this embodiment, a description is given of a binocularthree-dimensional image displaying device having left eye pixels andright eye pixels but the present invention is by no means limited inthis respect. For example, it is also possible to similarly apply thepresent invention to N viewpoint (where N is a natural number) methoddisplay devices. In this event, for the definition of the distance WP,it is preferable to change the number of pixels included in a region forthe distance WP from 2m to N×m.

In this embodiment, the through-holes are formed in the shape of arectangular opening. It is then possible to reduce the influence ofthrough-holes and suppress color aberrations by setting the radius ofcurvature so that the focal length of the lenticular lens is larger thanthe distance between lens pixels. In this embodiment, it is possible toreduce the extent of unevenness of the lens surface and to reduce thedeterioration in image quality caused by this unevenness because a lenswith a large radius of curvature is used. The operation and effects ofthe fifth embodiment other than those described above are the same asfor the third embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 26 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section cut along a reflective region including a through-hole ata line segment parallel to the X-axis direction in the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 27. As shown in FIGS. 26and 27, a semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 26 and athree-dimensional image display device 16 of the sixth embodimentdiffers from the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 25and the three-dimensional image display device 15 of the fifthembodiment in the application of the pixel of the fourth embodiment.That is, this embodiment is the lens of the fifth embodiment applied tothe pixels of the fourth embodiment. The configuration of thisembodiment other than that described above is the same as for the fifthembodiment.

This embodiment is the same as the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention with regards to the point that the radius of curvature of thelenticular lens 32 is set to be large, the image forming effect at theobservation playing is weak, and the effect of gradation of the imagefor the pixels is utilized. However, the amount of gradation of theimage for the pixels is different because the width of the opening inthe X-axis direction of the through-holes 44Ld and 44Rd is set to behalf or less of the pixel pitch. In this embodiment, the followingequation 23 is applied in place of equation 18 described above.

When defined as described above, the width of the enlarged imageoccurring at the observation plane of the through-hole becomes t×e. Itis then preferable to divide the width of the enlarged image for thisthrough-hole in half. That is, it is preferable for the image for thepixel to only be gradated by t×e/2. In the following, as with the fifthembodiment, the radius of curvature r4 of the lenses is calculatedpreferably so as to be set at a range established by the followingequation 23.

[Equation 23]

r4≦OD×(n−1)×L/(n×t×e−(n+1)×L)

This embodiment is finely applied to the case where the through-holesare formed in the shape of a rectangular opening and the width of theopening in the X-axis direction is small. It is therefore possible toreduce the amount of gradation and implement a broad stereoscopic band.The operation and effects of the sixth embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as for the fifth embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of a seventh embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 29 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 27 and a display device 17 of the seventhembodiment differ compared to the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 23 and the display device 13 disclosed in the thirdembodiment in that a left eye pixel 45L and a right eye pixel 45R areused, the radius of curvature is smaller than that is for the lenticularlens 3 disclosed in the first embodiment, and a lenticular lens 33 witha larger radius of curvature than the lenticular lens 31 disclosed inthe third embodiment is used.

At the left eye pixel 45L, the shape of through-holes 45Ld provided atthe color layer 45Lc is different from that of the third embodiment inthat the through-holes are subdivided into a large number of rectangularthrough-holes in the X-axis direction. This is to say that across-section dividing the reflective region including the through-holesusing a segment line parallel with the X-axis direction is such as to bedivided into through-holes 45Ld, and is divided into three regions inthe example shown in the drawing. The same also applies for the righteye pixel. The configuration of this embodiment other than thatdescribed above is the same as for the third embodiment.

In this embodiment, the shape of the through-hole 45Ld is formed so asto be subdivided into a large number of rectangular through-holes in theX-axis direction. It is therefore not necessary to change the radius ofcurvature of the lenticular lens 33 substantially from that of the firstembodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment of thepresent invention, the focal point of the lenticular lens 3 is set to bethe focal plane as described above. However, when the radius ofcurvature of the lens is changed from this state, a gradation effectoccurs for the image of the pixels. This gradation effect is utilized inthe third to sixth embodiments. However, when the extent of thegradation becomes substantial, the effect of splitting the left eyepixels and the right eye pixels is reduced and the range that can beviewed three-dimensionally is narrowed. In this embodiment, it ispossible to reduce the influence of the through-holes as well asreducing the extent of the gradation, and to suppress color aberrationsby subdividing the through-holes to give a large number of through-holesarranged in the direction of arraying of the lenses. It is thereforepossible to suppress the phenomenon of the stereoscopic band becomingnarrow and it is possible to implement a broad stereoscopic band. Theoperation and effects of the seventh embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as for the third embodiment.

Next, a description is given of an eighth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 31 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section cut along a reflective region including a through-hole ata line segment parallel to the X-axis direction at the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 32, and FIG. 34 is aview showing an optical model for the case of using a parallax barrier.As shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, a semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 28 and a three-dimensional image display device 18 of theeighth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquid crystaldisplay panel 23 and the three-dimensional image display device 13 ofthe third embodiment in using a parallax barrier 7 with a large numberof slits 7 a arranged in an X-axis direction in place of the lenticularlens 31. The configuration of this embodiment other than that describedabove is the same as for the third embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of the operation of the display device ofthe eighth embodiment configured as described above. First, adescription is given of the parallax barrier method using FIGS. 33 and34. As shown in FIG. 33, the parallax barrier 7 is a barrier (lightshielding plate) formed with a large number of thin verticalstripe-shaped openings, i.e. slits 7 a. In other words, the parallaxbarrier is an optical member where a plurality of slits extending in asecond direction orthogonal to the first direction that is the lightsplitting direction are arranged so as to be formed along the firstdirection. When light emitted from the left eye pixel 43L towards theparallax barrier 7 is transmitted through the slits 7 a, the lightbecomes luminous flux that propagates towards the region EL. When lightemitted from the right eye pixel 43R towards the parallax barrier 7 istransmitted through the slits 7 a, the light also becomes luminous fluxthat propagates towards the region ER. On the other hand, when anobserver positions their left eye 52 at the region EL and positionstheir right eye 51 at the region ER, the observer can recognize athree-dimensional image.

Next, a detailed description is given of a size of each part for thethree-dimensional image display device arranged with a parallax barrierformed with slit-shaped openings at the front surface of the displaypanel. As shown in FIG. 34, the arraying pitch for the slits 7 a of theparallax barrier 7 is taken to be L, and the distance between theparallax barrier 7 and the pixels is taken to be H. Further, thedistance between the parallax barrier 7 and the observer is taken to bean optimum observation distance OD. Moreover, a distance from the centerof a slit 7 a positioned at the center of the parallax barrier 7 to thecenter of a slit 7 a positioned at an end of the parallax barrier 7 inthe X-axis direction is taken to be WL. The parallax barrier 7 itself isa light shielding plate and the light incident to locations other thanthe slits 7 a is not transmitted but a substrate that supports thebarrier layer is also provided and a refractive index of the substrateis defined as n. When defined in this manner, light emitted from theslits 7 a is refracted in accordance with Snell's law while beingemitted from the substrate that supports the barrier layer. The angle ofincidence and the exit angle of light at the slits 7 a positioned at thecenter of the parallax barrier 7 are taken to be α and β, respectively,and the angle of incidence and the exit angle of light at the slits 7 apositioned at an end of the parallax barrier 7 in the X-axis directionare taken to be γ and δ, respectively. An opening width of the slits 7 ais taken to be S1. The arraying pitch L of the cylindrical lenses 7 aand the arraying pitch P of the pixels are mutually related in such amanner that one decides the other. Normally, cases where the parallaxbarrier is designed in line with the display panel are common and thearraying pitch P of the pixels is handled as a constant. The refractiveindex n can be decided by selecting the material for the supportsubstrate for the barrier layer. With regards to this, the observationdistance OD between the parallax barrier and the observer and theinterval e of the enlarged projected image for the pixels at theobservation distance OD are set to a desired value. The distance Hbetween the barrier and the pixels and the barrier pitch L are decidedusing these values.

The following equations 24 to 29 are established using Snell's law andgeometrical relationships. The following equations 30 to 32 are alsoestablished.

[Equation 24]

n×sin α=sin β

[Equation 25]

OD×tan β=e

[Equation 26]

H×tan α=P

[Equation 27]

n×sin γ=sin δ

[Equation 28]

H×tan γ=C

[Equation 29]

OD×tan δ=WL

[Equation 30]

WP−WL=C

[Equation 31]

WP=2×m×P

[Equation 32]

WL=m×L

If the parallax barrier is interpreted as enlarging the pixels in thesame way as with the lenticular lens of the third embodiment, thelateral magnification of the parallax barrier can be considered to be ofa value that is the interval for the enlarged projected images for thepixels divided by the interval for the pixels i.e. the pixel pitch, andtherefore becomes e/P.

When the width of an opening occurring in the X-axis direction of thethrough-holes 43Ld and 43Rd is defined as being t times the pixel pitch,the width of the enlarged image at the observation plane of thethrough-holes becomes t×e. It is then appropriate for an image for thepixels to be gradated by a value that is the width of the enlarged imagefor the through-holes subtracted from the interval for the enlargedprojected image for the pixels divided in half, i.e. (1−t)×e/2. At theparallax barrier, when the width of the slit opening is small, thegradation working becomes larger as the width of the opening becomeslarger as with the same theory for image forming as for a pinholecamera.

As shown in FIG. 33, taking note of the behavior of light at the endportion of the opening of the slit 7 a positioned at a central part ofthe parallax barrier 7, the angle of incidence and the exit angle oflight that is incident to the end portion of the opening of the slit 7 athat is emitted from the boundary of the left eye pixel 43L and theright eye pixel 43R are defined as ε and φ. It is necessary for thelight to broaden by just (1−t)×e/2 while the emitted light propagates byjust OD. Equations 33 to 35 are therefore established using Snell's lawand geometrical relationships. The following equation 36 is thenderived.

[Equation 33]

n×sin ε=sin φ

[Equation 34]

OD×tan φ=(1−t)×e/2

[Equation 35]

H×tan ε=S1/2

[Equation 36]

S1=2×H×tan(1/n×arcsin(sin(arctan((1−t)×e/OD/2)))))

This slit width S1 is a value for implementing a minimum gradation andcorresponds to the minimum value for the slit width and is preferablyset to the range established by the following equation 37.

[Equation 37]

S1≧2×H×tan(1/n×arcsin(sin(arctan((1−t)×e/OD/2)))))

The working as a parallax barrier reduces as for the slit width S1becomes larger. For example, when the slit width is the same as thearraying pitch L of the slits, the light shielding region no longerexists and does not function as a parallax barrier. With regards tothis, in the present invention, it is assumed that an optical membersuch as a parallax barrier splits in mutually different directions lightemitted from the plurality of pixels. In order to implement the assumedconditions, it is preferable for the upper limit for the slit width S1to be half or less of the arraying pitch L of the slits. This conditionis to give a maximum value in the order that regions exist where imagesfor the left and right pixels do not overlap. In other words, it ispreferable for the slit width S1 to satisfy equation 37 and to be halfor less of the arraying pitch of the slits.

In this embodiment, the through-holes are formed in the shape ofrectangular openings. However, it is possible to reduce the influence ofthe through-holes and to suppress collaborations by utilizing thegradation working of the slits by setting the width of the openings ofthe slits at the parallax barrier appropriately. Comparing the parallaxbarrier method with the lenticular lens method, absorption loss occursdue to light shielding sections other than slits and the transmissivityand the reflectivity therefore fall. Straightforward manufacturing isalso possible using photolithography as described previously and costscan therefore be reduced.

In this embodiment, an explanation is given of using a parallax barrierwith slits arranged one-dimensionally in the X-axis direction. However,the present invention is by no means limited in this respect, and isalso applicable to barriers where the openings are arrangedtwo-dimensionally. For example, it is also possible to use a parallaxbarrier where a plurality of pinhole shaped openings are formed in theshape of a matrix. This optical member has an effect of splitting in asecond direction orthogonal to the first direction light emitted fromeach pixel, within a display plane of the display panel. As a result, itis possible to view images for different viewpoints not only in thefirst direction but also in the second direction. The operation andeffects of the eighth embodiment other than those described above arethe same as for the third embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a ninth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 35 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an optical model incross-section cut along a reflective region including a through-hole ata line segment parallel to the X-axis direction at the semi-transmissivetype liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 36. As shown in FIGS. 35and 36, a semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 29 and athree-dimensional image display device 19 of the ninth embodiment differfrom the semi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 28 and thethree-dimensional image display device 18 of the eighth embodiment inthe application of the left eye pixel 44L and the right eye pixel 44R ofthe fourth embodiment. That is, a description is given of the case wherethe width of the through-holes 44Ld and 44Rd in the X-axis direction is50 percent of the pixel pitch or less. The configuration of thisembodiment other than that described above is the same as for the eighthembodiment.

In this embodiment, the width of the openings of the through-holes 44Ldand 44Rd in the X-axis direction is set to be half of the pixel pitch orless. The extent of gradation of the image for the pixels is thereforedifferent. In this embodiment, the following equation 23 is applied inplace of equation 18 described above.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 37, the width of the enlarged imageoccurring at the observation plane of the through-hole becomes t×e. Itis then preferable for the image for the pixels to be gradated by avalue that is the width of the enlarged image for this through-holedivided in half, i.e. divided by t×e/2, in order to reduce the influenceof the through-holes at the observation plane. In the following, as withthe eighth embodiment, the width S2 of the opening of the slits iscalculated preferably so as to be set at a range established by thefollowing equation 38.

[Equation 38]

S2≧2×H×tan(1/n×arcsin(sin(arctan(t×e/OD/2)))))

It is possible for the upper limit of the slit width S2 to be consideredto be half of the arraying pitch for the slits, as with the eighthembodiment. This means that it is preferable for the slit width S2 tosatisfy equation 38 and to be half or less of the arraying pitch of theslits.

This embodiment is preferably applied to the case where thethrough-holes are formed in the shape of a rectangular opening and thewidth of the opening in the X-axis direction is small. It is thereforepossible to reduce the amount of gradation and implement a broadstereoscopic band. The operation and effects of the ninth embodimentother than those described above are the same as for the fourthembodiment.

Next, a description is given of a tenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 38 is a perspective view showing a terminal device ofthis embodiment. FIG. 39 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 40 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 38 to 40, a semi-transparent liquidcrystal display panel 20 and a display device 10 of this embodiment areincorporated in a mobile telephone 91 as a terminal device. Thisembodiment differs compared to the first embodiment in that alongitudinal direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a constituting thelenticular lens 3, i.e. the Y-axis direction is the lateral direction ofthe image display device, i.e. the horizontal direction of the image,and the arraying direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a, i.e. theX-axis direction is the vertical direction, i.e. a perpendiculardirection of the image.

Further, as shown in FIG. 39, a plurality of pixel pairs each consistingof one first viewpoint pixel 4F and one second viewpoint pixel 4S arearranged in a matrix shape at the display panel 20. The direction ofarraying the first viewpoint pixel 4F and the second viewpoint pixel 4Sfor one pixel pair is the X-axis direction that is the direction ofarraying the cylindrical lenses 3 a and is the vertical direction(perpendicular direction) of the screen. The structure of each pixel 4Fand 4S is the same as for the first embodiment. For example, atransmission region 4Fa, a reflective region 4Fb, a color layer 4Fc, aslit-shaped through-hole 4Fd, and a light shielding region 4Fe areprovided for the first viewpoint pixel 4F as in the first embodiment.The configuration of this embodiment other than that described above isthe same as the first embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of the operation of the image displayingdevice of this embodiment. The basic operation is the same as for thefirst embodiment but the displayed images are different. The firstviewpoint pixel 4F of the display panel 20 displays a first viewpointimage and the second viewpoint pixel 4S displays a second viewpointimage. The first viewpoint image and the second viewpoint image areplanar images rather than the three-dimensional images with mutualparallaxes. Both images can be mutually independent images or can beimages displaying mutually correlating information.

In this embodiment, there is the advantage that not only can uniformreflective displaying that is not influenced by the through-holes beimplemented on the phenomenon of color aberrations occurring due to theviewing angle and external light conditions, but also it is possible toselect and the observe the first viewpoint image or the second viewpointimage by the observer just changing the angle of the mobile telephone91. In particular, when there is correlation between the first viewpointimage and the second viewpoint image, it is possible to alternatelyswitch over between respective images for observation using astraightforward method of just changing the viewing angle. Thissubstantially increases convenience. When the first viewpoint image andthe second viewpoint image are arranged in a lateral direction, thecases exists where different images are observed by the right eye andthe left eye depending on the position of the observer. In this event,the observer is confused and can no longer recognize images for eachviewpoint. With regards to this, as shown in this embodiment, when theimages for a plurality of viewpoints are arranged in the verticaldirection, the observer is always able to observe images for eachviewpoint using both eyes and can easily recognize these images. Theconfiguration of this embodiment other than that described above is thesame as for the first embodiment. This embodiment can be combined withany of the second to ninth embodiments. Combination with embodimentsdescribed in the following is also possible.

In the first to tenth embodiments, examples are shown where imagedisplay devices are mounted on a mobile telephone etc. and an imagehaving a parallax is supplied to both the left and right eyes of asingle observer so as to display a three-dimensional image, or aplurality of types of images are supplied at the same time to a singleobserver. However, the image display device of the present invention isnot limited in this respect and can also be a large type display panelwhere a plurality of mutually different images are supplied to aplurality of observers. The same also applies to embodiments describedin the following.

Next, an explanation is given of an eleventh embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 41 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 42 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 221 and the display device 111 of thiseleventh embodiment differ compared to the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 27 and the display device 17 disclosed in theseventh embodiment in that a left eye pixel 46L and a right eye pixel46R are used.

At the left eye pixel 46L, the shape of the through-hole 46Ld providedat the color layer 46Lc is different to that of the seventh embodiment.Specifically, the shape of the through-hole 46Ld is stepped, and thewidth of the opening for the through-hole in the Y-axis directiontherefore differs depending on the X-axis direction coordinate. Forexample, for the left eye pixel 46L, a through-hole where the width ofthe opening in the Y-axis direction is a maximum is formed in thevicinity of the center in the X-axis direction. The width of theopenings in the Y-axis direction is also arranged so as to becomesmaller in a stepped manner going away from the vicinity of the centerin the X-axis direction. The same also applies for the right eye pixel46R. The configuration of this embodiment other than that describedabove is the same as for the seventh embodiment. This is to say that, asin the seventh embodiment, the cylindrical lenses 33 a constituting thelenticular lens 33 have a radius of curvature that is smaller than thatof the cylindrical lenses 3 a constituting the lenticular lens 3disclosed in the first embodiment, and larger than the radius ofcurvature of the cylindrical lenses 31 a constituting the lenticularlens 31 disclosed in the third embodiment.

In FIG. 41, the light shielding region 46Le is arranged at a portionother than the transmission region 46La and the reflective region 46Lbof the left eye pixel 46L. This is the same as with other pixels and thesame as with other embodiments.

In this embodiment, the width of the openings for the through-holes 45Ldin the Y-axis direction are configured to be different depending on theX-axis coordinate. The focal point of the lenticular lens 33 is also setto be slightly different from the pixel. The image-forming effects withrespect to the observation plane are therefore weak, the image for thepixels exhibits a gradation effect that is slight, and superiorseparation characteristics can therefore be implemented. As a result ofthese two characteristics, as in the second embodiment, the same effectscan be exhibited as for a configuration where the width of the openingsin the Y-axis direction changes gently with respect to the X-axisdirection even when through-holes having stepped openings are used as inthis embodiment. It is therefore possible to suppress the occurrence ofcolour abberations in the direction of the viewing angle causes by thestepped openings, and it is possible to reduce discomfort felt by theobserver.

In particular, when a TFT method is used as a method for driving theliquid crystal display panel, it is necessary to arrange a large numberof structures such as transistors for applying voltages corresponding toimages to be displayed at pixel electrodes and storage capacitors forholding the voltages. As a result, there are cases where through-holesof a shape that changes smoothly as in the second embodiment cannot bearranged appropriately due to the layout of these structures. In suchcases it is possible to increase the displaying quality through theapplication of through-holes having stepped openings as in thisembodiment and slightly lowering the separation performance of thelenticular lens, i.e. by slightly lowering the performance of separationof light emitted from the left and right pixels into differentdirections.

By then setting the focal length of the lenticular lens in thisembodiment so that the stepped openings occurring at the through-holesare not projected as is onto the observation plane, it is possible forthis to be considered to be the same as, for example, the thirdembodiment. The gradation can therefore be set to be the same as thewidth of each step of the stepped opening in the X-axis direction. It istherefore possible to reduce color aberrations that depend on thedirection of the viewing angle caused by the shape of the steps of thethrough-holes and it is possible to implement the same picture qualityas for the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 41, it is preferable for the width of the openings ofthe through-holes in the X-axis direction to be formed to be larger atthe end sections of the color layers and then become smaller upon movingfurther away from the end sections. In other words, this shape is suchthat part of the color layer can be represented as a bitten off shape.As it is then possible to prevent the color layers from having acuteangles, not only do the shapes of the through-holes becomestraightforward, but it is also possible to reduce irregularities of theshape within the plane and uniform displaying can be implemented.

In this embodiment, an explanation is given where the shapes of theopenings of the through-holes are stepped shapes but the presentinvention is by no means limited in this respect and can similarly beapplied through-hole shapes where the widths of the openings in theY-axis direction change in step shapes with respect to the X-axisdirection.

The following is a summary of the above eleventh embodiment of thepresent invention. The display panel of this embodiment comprises aplurality of display units including at least pixels for displaying afirst viewpoint image and pixels for displaying a second viewpoint imagearranged in the shape of a matrix, an optical member, for splitting inmutually different directions light emitted from each pixel within thedisplay unit provided along a first direction along which the pixels fordisplaying the first viewpoint image and the pixels for displaying thesecond viewpoint image are arranged;

The width of the through-hole in a second direction orthogonal to thefirst direction for the display plane of the display panel changes in astepped shape according to the position in the first direction, and theoptical member does not have an image-forming relationship with thepixels. In the present invention, it is then possible to reduce theinfluence of the through-holes and suppress color aberrations bydisplaying with the through-hole images in a gradated manner. The degreeof freedom of arraying the through-holes is therefore increased and itis possible to implement high quality displaying. The operation andeffects of the eleventh embodiment other than those described above arethe same as for the seventh embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a twelfth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 43 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 44 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 43 and 44, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 222 and a display device 112 of thistwelfth embodiment differ compared to the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 22 and the display device 12 disclosed for thesecond embodiment in that a left eye pixel 47L and a right eye pixel 47Rare used.

At the left eye pixel 47L, the shape of through-hole 47Ld provided atthe color layer 47Lc is different to that of the second embodiment.Specifically, the shape of the through-hole 47Ld is an invertedtrapezoid. That is, the through-hole 47 is trapezoidal with a lower basepositioned at an end side of the color layer. The through-hole is formedin such a manner that the color layer 47Lc is present at a cornersection of the reflective region 47Lb. The same also applies for theright eye pixel 47R. The configuration of this embodiment other thanthat described above is the same as for the second embodiment. Theconfiguration of this embodiment other than that described above is thesame as for the second embodiment.

In this embodiment, the through-holes are arranged so as to exclude acorner section of the display regions of the pixels. That is, thethrough-holes are formed in such a manner that color layers exists atthe corner sections of the regions used in pixel displaying. Typically,a color resist for forming a color layer is formed to a certain extentof the thickness. This thickness depends on the density of the colors tobe implemented but have recently tended to increase in order to displaybroad color bands. Specifically, the thickness of a color resist forminga color layer is 2 micrometers for a liquid crystal of a thickness of 3to 4 micrometers. This causes a substantial discrepancy for thestructure for the thickness direction at the through-holes and theirsurroundings. A flat layer is therefore introduced in order to reducethis discrepancy. However, it is not possible to completely reduce thisdiscrepancy and there is therefore a slight difference in the thicknessof the liquid crystal layer at the through-hole portions and the colorlayer portions. This is to say that the thickness of the liquid crystallayers is greater than that of the through-hole sections were the colorlayers do not exist.

Next, taking note of the corner section of the region used in pixeldisplaying, this region is a point of inflection and there is thereforea tendency for irregular orientation of the liquid crystal to easilyoccur. In particular, when the light shielding region is formed of anorganic layer such as black resist rather than being formed from a metallayer, steps occur at an intersection of the light shielding region.There is a tendency for abnormal orientation of the liquid crystal to becaused by the influence of the steps. In particular, the probability ofabnormal orientation occurring at corner portions is higher than that isfor at linear sections.

In this embodiment, through-holes are formed except for at a cornersection where the probability of abnormal orientation of the liquidcrystal occurring is high. As a result, it is possible to reduceabnormal orientation of the liquid crystal in cases where through-holesare formed at corner sections of pixels and cases where an end sectionof a through-hole is formed at a corner section of a pixel. It istherefore possible to improve displaying quality. The operation andeffects of the twelfth embodiment other than those described above arethe same as for the second embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a thirteenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 45 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 46 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 223 and a display device 113 of thethirteenth embodiment differ compared to the semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 2 and the display device 1 of the firstembodiment in that two types of left eye pixel 401L and 402L and twotypes of right eye pixel 401R and 402R are used.

The structure of the left eye pixel 401L is the same as the structure ofthe right eye pixel 401R. Similarly, the structure of the left eye pixel402L is the same as the structure of the right eye pixel 402R. The lefteye pixel 401L and the right eye pixel 401R constitute a set that formsa display unit. Display units constituted by the left eye pixel 401L andthe right eye pixel 401R are repeatedly arranged along the X-axisdirection that is the direction of arraying of the cylindrical lenses.The left eye pixel 402L and the right eye pixel 402R also constitute aset that forms a display unit. Display units constituted by the left eyepixel 402L and the right eye pixel 402R are repeatedly arranged alongthe X-axis direction that is the direction of arraying of thecylindrical lenses. Rows of display units constituted by the left eyepixel 401L and the right eye pixel 401R and rows of display units thatare constituted by the left eye pixel 402L and the right eye pixel 402Rare arranged alternately along the Y-axis direction.

At the left eye pixel 401L, the through-hole 401Ld is only formed at aregion for part of the pixel. Specifically, the through-holes arearranged divided along the X-axis direction with respect to the left eyepixel 4L of the first embodiment. For example, rectangular-shapedthrough-holes are arranged discontinuously in the X-axis direction. Thepositions of the rectangular through-holes, i.e. the relative positionsof the through-holes at each pixel are different at the left eye pixel401L and the left eye pixel 402L. In particular, the relative positionsin the X-axis direction are different. In one example, the relativepositions of the through-holes 401Ld at the left eye pixels 401L aresymmetrical about the Y-axis to the relative positions of thethrough-holes 402Ld at the left eye pixels 402L, i.e. are symmetricalwith respect to an axis extending in a direction orthogonal to thedirection of arraying of the cylindrical lenses. The configuration ofthis embodiment other than that described above is the same as for thefirst embodiment.

In this embodiment, the influence of the through-holes can becompensated for and high picture quality is possible by using rows ofdisplay units including the left eye pixel 401L and the right eye pixel401R and rows of display units including the left eye pixel 402L and theright eye pixel 402R arranged alternately along the Y-axis direction.

That is, the position of the through-hole 401Ld at the left eye pixel401L in the X-axis direction is different from the position of thethrough-hole 402Ld at the left eye pixel 402L in the X-axis direction. Aposition of an image for the through-hole 401Ld projected at theobservation plane by the lenticular lens and the position of an image ofthe through-hole 402Ld are different. It is therefore possible toprevent the phenomenon of the positions of the images of thethrough-holes being the same for all pixels, and it is possible toreduce the influence of the through-holes. In other words, display unitsneighboring in a second direction that is orthogonal within a displayplane with respect to the first direction that is the splittingdirection of the optical member such as the lens has pixels where therelative positions of the through-holes are different. It is thereforepossible to compensate for the influence of the through-holes usingpixels neighboring along the second direction.

In each of the first to twelfth embodiments, it is assumed that all ofthe pixels have the same structure. In this regard, this embodiment ischaracterized by the point that different pixel structures are adoptedand the influence of through-holes is reduced.

This embodiment is particularly suited to display panels using thin-filmtransistors. This embodiment is particularly suited to being applied tochanging the positions of thin-film transistors in row units in caseswhere the positions of the through-holes are restricted for thin-filmtransistors and storage capacitors used in combination with thin-filmtransistors. For example, by arranging the positions of thin-filmtransistors etc. within the pixels symmetrically about a Y-axis in lineunits, appropriate combination with the positions of the through-holesof this embodiment is possible.

In this embodiment, the positions of the through-holes are configured inthe same manner at the left eye pixels and the right eye pixelsconstituting each display unit. That is, the relative positions of thethrough-holes are the same for pixels constituting each display unit. Itis therefore possible to make the pixels viewed by the left eye and thepixels viewed by the right eye the same. This makes it possible todramatically reduce the feeling of discomfort. This is extremelyeffective in cases where it is wished to implement two-dimensionaldisplaying by displaying the same information at the left eye pixel andthe right eye pixel constituting each display unit.

In this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the effect of thethrough-holes by arraying pixels of different through-hole positionsalong the Y-axis direction. This is extremely effective with multipleviewpoints where it is necessary to arrange a large number of pixels inthe X-axis direction. In other words, in this embodiment, an explanationis given for the case of two viewpoints where the display units areconstructed from two types of left eye pixel and right eye pixel.However, when the number of viewpoints is increased, it is necessary toarrange a large number of pixels along the X-axis direction, i.e. alongthe direction of arraying of the cylindrical lenses.

For example, when a large number of multiple viewpoint display pixelsare arranged within a square region, the pixel density in the X-axisdirection becomes high. It is therefore difficult to array pixels havingdifferent through-hole positions along the X-axis direction. It istherefore preferable to arrange pixels having different through-holepositions along the Y-axis direction as in this embodiment, and highimage quality is therefore possible.

When multiple viewpoint display pixels are arranged without restrictionwithin a square region, i.e. when implementing multiple viewpointdisplay without increasing the pixel density in the X-axis direction,the pitch of the display units in the X-axis direction becomes fine, anda sufficient compensation effect can no longer be obtained. It istherefore preferable to compensate using pixels neighboring in theY-axis direction as in this embodiment.

Regarding the arrangement of the color pixels, when pixels for, forexample, the three colors of red, green, and blue are arranged in theform of lateral stripes, the positions of through-holes for the pixelsfor red and green neighboring on the Y-axis direction are different butthe positions of the through-holes for the blue pixels neighboring thegreen pixels are the same as for the red pixels. The positions of thethrough-holes for the red pixels neighboring the blue pixels aredifferent to the positions of the through-holes for the blue pixels. Asa result, when only pixels of the same color are given color, pixelswhere the positions of the through-holes are different are arrangedalternately. That is, the relationship between the number of pixels forwhich the through-hole positions are different and the number of colorsfor the color pixels should at least be that the numbers are not thesame. More specifically, a relationship where the values do not matchwith each other is preferable. This means that compensation effects caneffectively be demonstrated using pixels that carry out the same roleeven with pixels that are not directly next to each other.

The heights of the openings of the through-holes, i.e. the widths of theopenings of the through-holes in the Y-axis direction can be differentdepending on the type of color. This is to say that in the presentinvention, an important point is that pixels exist where the positionsof the through-holes are different for the X-axis direction that is thedirection of splitting the lenses.

In this embodiment, an explanation is given of using two types of pixelswhere the positions of the through-holes are different. However, thepresent invention is by no means limited in this respect and a largenumber of types of pixels can also be used. The operation and effects ofthe thirteenth embodiment other than those described above are the sameas for the first embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of a fourteenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 47 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 47 and 48, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 224 and a display device 114 of thefourteenth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 223 and the display device 113 disclosed in thethirteenth embodiment with regards to the arrangement of the left eyepixels and the right eye pixels. The point that two types of left eyepixel 401L and 402L are used, and two types of right eye pixel 401R and402R are used is the same but display units that are constructed fromthe left eye pixel 401L and the right eye pixel 401R are arrangedrepeatedly along the Y-axis direction. Display units constructed fromthe left eye pixel 402L and the right eye pixel 402R are repeatedlyarranged along the Y-axis direction. This is to say that columns of thetwo types of display units are arranged alternately in the X-axisdirection. The configuration of this embodiment other than thatdescribed above is the same as for the thirteenth embodiment.

The influence of through-holes is compensated for in this embodiment byusing display units neighboring in the X-axis direction. That is,display units neighboring in the first direction that is the directionof splitting of the optical member such as a lens have pixels where therelative positions of the through-holes are different. This means thatthe same pixels are arranged in the Y-axis direction. Use is thereforepossible where arrangements of lateral stripes of colors can be combinedas preferred and arrangement is possible independent of the type ofcolor and type of pixel. This is preferable from the point of making thedisplaying uniform. In particular, when there are more types of colorlayers than there are viewpoints, application is possible for, forexample, cases such as three colors for two viewpoints, as preferred.This is because the number of pixels in the X-axis direction is smallerthan the number of pixels in the Y-axis direction.

It is preferable for the direction in which pixels where the positionsof the through-holes are the same are repeatedly arranged to beorthogonal to the direction where pixels of the same color arerepeatedly arranged in order for the displaying to be made uniform. Itis also preferable for the direction where pixels of the same color arerepeatedly arranged to be the same as the direction of arraying of thelenses. This is in order to prevent the occurrence of separation ofcolors due to the lens working. It is therefore preferable for thedirection where pixels where the positions of the through-holes are thesame are repeatedly arranged to be orthogonal to the direction ofarraying of the lenses. When this is not the case, as disclosed in thethirteenth embodiment, the number of pixels where the positions of thethrough-holes are different and the number of colors for the colorpixels become restricted. The operation and effects of the fourteenthembodiment other than those described above are the same as for thethirteenth embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a fifteenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 49 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 50 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 49 and 50, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 225 and a display device 115 of thefifteenth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 223 and the display device 113 disclosed in thethirteenth embodiment with regards to the arrangement of the left eyepixels and the right eye pixels. That is, display units constructed fromthe left eye pixel 401L and the right eye pixel 401R and display unitsconstructed from the left eye pixel 402L and the right eye pixel 402Rare arranged in a checkered pattern. In other words, the two types ofdisplay units are alternately arranged along the Y-axis direction ratherthan being alternately arranged along the X-axis direction. Thestructure of the fifteenth embodiment other than that described above isthe same as for the thirteenth embodiment.

In this embodiment, the influence of the through-holes is reduced byusing not only display units arranged along the X-axis direction, butalso display units arranged along the Y-axis direction. That is, displayunits neighboring in the first direction that is the direction ofsplitting of the optical member such as a lens have pixels where therelative positions of the through-holes are different, and display unitsneighboring along a second direction orthogonal to the first directionwithin the display plane also have pixels where the relative positionsof the through-holes are different. It is therefore possible to increasethe compensation effects from those of the thirteenth embodiment andhigh picture quality is possible. The operation and effects of thefifteenth embodiment other than those described above are the same asfor the thirteenth embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a sixteenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 51 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 51 and 52, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 226 and a display device 116 of thesixteenth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 225 and the display device 115 disclosed in thefifteenth embodiment with regards to the arrangement of the left eyepixels and the right eye pixels. That is, the point of using the lefteye pixel 401L and the right eye pixel 401R is the same but the point ofusing a left eye pixel 403L and a right eye pixel 403R is different. Theleft eye pixel 403L is arranged so as to be rotationally symmetricalthrough 180 degrees with respect to the left eye pixel 401L. The righteye pixel 403R is arranged so as to be rotationally symmetrical through180 degrees with respect to a right eye pixel 403L. Display unitsconstructed from the left eye pixel 401L and the right eye pixel 401Rand display units constructed from the left eye pixel 403L and the righteye pixel 403R are also arranged in a checkered pattern as with thefourteenth embodiment. The structure of the sixteenth embodiment otherthan that described above is the same as for the fifteenth embodiment.

In this embodiment, it is possible to demonstrate a two-dimensionalcompensation effect by arranging two types of display units in acheckered pattern and high picture quality is therefore possible.Further, through-holes of neighboring pixels are arranged in closeproximity. It is therefore possible to suppress abnormal alignment ofthe liquid crystal caused by steps between the through-holes and theirsurroundings and high picture quality is therefore possible. Theoperation and effects of the sixteenth embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as for the fifteenth embodiment.

Next, a description is given of a seventeenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 53 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 54 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 227 and a display device 117 of theseventeenth embodiment substantially differ compared to thesemi-transmissive type liquid crystal display panel 226 and the displaydevice 116 of the sixteenth embodiment with regards to the shape andarrangement of the pixels.

Regarding the shape of the pixels, whereas the basic elements of theprevious embodiments were rectangular, the basic element of thisembodiment is trapezoidal. Here, referring to the basic element as beingtrapezoidal means that the shapes of the display regions of the pixelsare trapezoidal.

Specifically, at a left eye pixel 404L, a light shielding regionpositioned at the boundary with a pixel neighboring along an X-axisdirection is arranged so as to be inclined from the Y-axis direction. Alight shielding region positioned at the boundary with the pixelneighboring on the left side is then arranged so as to be inclined in adirection at an opposing angle to that of the light shielding regionpositioned at the boundary with the pixel neighboring to the right side.A trapezoidal oblique side section is therefore formed, and a displayregion for the pixels is formed in the shape of a trapezoid. This is tosay that a transmission region 404La is a trapezoid and a reflectiveregion 404Lb is also a trapezoid. The shape of a color layer 404Lc isthe same as for the other embodiments with the exclusion of thethrough-hole section. A through-hole 404Ld is a trapezoid and isarranged in the vicinity of the approach of the display region that istrapezoidal. The through-hole 404Ld is arranged offset towards the −Xdirection rather than in the vicinity of the center of the upper edge inthe X-axis direction.

The right eye pixel 405R is arranged so as to be rotationallysymmetrical through 180 degrees with respect to the left eye pixel 404L.A display pixel is then formed by a left eye pixel 404L and the righteye pixel 405R.

Similarly, the left eye pixel 405L is arranged so as to be rotationallysymmetrical through 180 degrees with respect to the left eye pixel 404L.A right eye pixel 404R is arranged so as to be rotationally symmetricalthrough 180 degrees with respect to a right eye pixel 405L That is, theleft eye pixel 404L and the right eye pixel 404R have the same pixelstructure but their positional relationship with respect to the lens isdifferent. Similarly, the pixel structure for a left eye pixel 405L andthe right eye pixel 405R is the same but their positional relationshipwith respect to the lens is different. A display pixel is then formed bythe left eye pixel 405L and the right eye pixel 404R.

Next, an explanation is given of the arrangement of the two types ofdisplay pixels. Display elements constructed from the left eye pixel404L and the right eye pixel 405R are arranged at the −Y direction sideof display elements constructed from the left eye pixel 404L and theright eye pixel 405R. The left eye pixel 405L is arranged so as to berotationally symmetrical through 180 degrees with respect to the lefteye pixel 404L. The upper sides of the trapezoidal pixels are thereforealso simply arranged in a relative manner. Similarly, the lower side ofthe right eye pixel 405R is also arranged relative to the lower side ofthe right eye pixel 404R.

Display elements constructed from the left eye pixel 404L and the righteye pixel 405R are arranged at the +Z direction side of display elementsconstructed from the left eye pixel 404L and the right eye pixel 405R.Display elements constructed from the left eye pixel 404L and the righteye pixel 405R are arranged at the −Y direction side of display elementsconstructed from the left eye pixel 404L and the right eye pixel 405R.

In the X-axis direction that is the image splitting direction of thecylindrical lenses, light shielding regions arranged at the boundary ofthe neighboring pixel are arranged so as to be inclined from the Y-axisdirection. The direction of this inclination is alternately made thereverse direction every one pixel for the pixels neighboring in theY-axis direction. As a result, the light shielding regions extendingalong the Y-axis direction constitute a zigzag line extending along theY-axis direction. This zigzag line and a further zigzag line arrangedline-symmetrically to this zigzag line with respect to the Y-axis arealternately arranged along the X-axis direction.

A further feature of this embodiment is that a left eye pixel and aright eye pixel occurring within a display unit are not arranged inparallel. For example, the right eye pixel 405R is arranged rotationallysymmetrically through 180 degrees with respect to the left eye pixel404L at a display unit constructed from the left eye pixel 404L and theright eye pixel 405R. This is to say that this display unit has pixelsthat are arranged with a rotationally symmetrical relationship.

Originally, it was not desirable to use pixels arranged differentlywithin display units. This is because pixels that are in differentstates for the left eye and the right eye are then viewed. In thisembodiment, this problem is resolved by employing compensation usingneighboring display units.

In this embodiment, display elements constructed from the left eye pixel405L and the right eye pixel 404R are arranged at the −Y direction sideof display elements constructed from the left eye pixel 404L and theright eye pixel 405R. Taking note of these two types of display units,the left eye pixel 404L has the same structure as the right eye pixel404R. The left eye pixel 405L then has the same structure as the righteye pixel 405R. Pixels of the same structure are then arranged by liningup to neighboring display units. This is an idea for compensation usingneighboring display pixels.

The through-holes for each pixel are arranged with a different structurefor the pixels constituting each display unit. This arrangement is sothat compensation using neighboring display units is possible. Thestructure of the seventeenth embodiment other than that described aboveis the same as for the sixteenth embodiment.

In this embodiment, it is possible to demonstrate two-dimensionalcompensation effects. The influence of the through-holes can thereforebe reduced and high-quality displaying is possible. Further, the displayregions for each pixel are trapezoidal. It is therefore possible toreduce the influence of non-displaying regions existing betweenneighboring pixels along the X-axis direction that is the direction ofsplitting of the lenses and improved visibility is possible. It is alsopossible to arrange the wiring and the thin-film transistors moreeffectively. This makes it possible to ensure that the regionscontributing to displaying are large and bright displaying is thereforepossible. Arrangement not only of through-holes at verticallyneighboring pixels but also the arrangement of reflective regions andtransmission regions at close proximity is possible, and brightdisplaying is therefore also possible. In this embodiment, basicallyonly one type of pixel is used and this one type of pixel is arrangedrotationally symmetrically or is arranged line-symmetrically. This is tosay that just one type of pixel is being used and the design load cantherefore be reduced.

An explanation is given where the through-holes in this embodiment aretrapezoidal. However, the present invention is by no means limited inthis respect. In one example, it is also possible to use rectangularthrough-holes, it is possible to use through-holes in the shape of aparallelogram, or it is possible to use through-holes of a shape where aparallelogram is divided in two to the left and right. It is alsopossible for the through-holes to be arranged in the vicinity of thecenter income X-axis direction of an upper edge constituting atrapezoidal display region.

It is also possible to use a shape based on a trapezoid rather thanusing a perfect trapezoidal shape. In one example, it is also possibleto apply a shape provided with a rectangle of the same width as the baseat the base of the trapezoid. A structure formed using photolithographypreferably does not have acute angles in order to achieve a uniformshape. With a shape where rectangles are arranged at the bases oftrapezoids, it is possible to eliminate acute angles by forming usingonly obtuse angles and right-angles. This can be applied not only to theshape of the display regions for the pixels but also to the shapes ofthe through-holes.

An explanation is now given of an example arrangement for the colorpixels. This embodiment can be handled in the same way as the case wherepixels with through-holes the relative positions of which are differentare alternately arranged along the Y-axis direction such as disclosedfor the thirteenth embodiment. For example, consider the case for pixelsfor the three colors of red, green, and blue arranged as lateral stripeshapes. In FIG. 53, the left eye pixel 404L for the left end of a pixelrow is for red, and a left eye pixel 405L neighboring this pixel in the−Y direction is for green. At this time, the positions of thethrough-holes for the red and green pixels are different. A left eyepixel 404L is then further arranged at the −Y direction side of the lefteye pixel 405L. This left eye pixel 404L is then for blue, and positionof the through-hole is the same as for the left eye pixel 404L for redon the +Y direction side. The left eye pixel 405L, the left eye pixel404L, and the left eye pixel 405L, are then arranged in this order atthe −Y direction side of the left eye pixel 404L for blue and areallocated to red, green, and blue, respectively. To summarize the above,the red left eye pixel 404L, the green left eye pixel 405L, the blueleft eye pixel 404L, the red left eye pixel 405L, the green left eyepixel 404L, and the blue left eye pixel 405L are arranged in this orderin a direction going from the +Y direction towards the −Y direction.This set is then repeatedly arranged in the Y-axis direction. As aresult, when only pixels of the same color are given color, pixels wherethe positions of the through-holes are different are arrangedalternately. This means that compensation effects can be effectivelydemonstrated using pixels that carry out the same role even with pixelsthat are not directly next to each other and high picture quality ispossible. That is, the relationship between the number of pixels forwhich the through-hole positions are different and the number of colorsfor the color pixels should at least be that the numbers are not thesame. More specifically, a relationship where the values do not matchwith each other is preferable.

At each of the display units, the positions of the through-holes of theleft eye pixels are different from the positions of the through-holes ofthe right eye pixels. This is to say that a set of the right eye pixelscorresponding to the set of left eye pixels described above isconstituted by a red right eye pixel 405R, a green right eye pixel 404R,a blue right eye pixel 405R, a red right eye pixel 404R, a green righteye pixel 405R, and a blue right eye pixel 404R going in a directionfrom the +Y direction towards the −Y direction. The red left eye pixel404L has exactly the same structure as the red right eye pixel 404R.That is, at the left eye pixel circuit, a pixel arrangement where thephase is offset in the Y-axis direction by just a portion for the RGBstripes constitutes the right eye pixel set. When this is considered asan RGB set, implementation is possible by arranging sets of the samestructure so as to form a checkered pattern.

The operation and effects of the seventeenth embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as for the fifteenth embodiment.

Next, a description is given of an eighteenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 55 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 56 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 55 and 56, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 228 and a display device 118 of theeighteenth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 223 and the display device 113 disclosed in thethirteenth embodiment with regards to the shape of the pixels. Theregularity of the arrangement of the pixels is however substantially thesame.

Whereas each pixel of the seventeenth embodiment takes a trapezoid as abasic element, each pixel in this embodiment takes a parallelogram as abasic element. At a left eye pixel 406L, a transmission region 406La anda reflective region 406Lb are arranged, and the display region that isthese regions combined is in the shape of a parallelogram. In thisembodiment, the transmission region 406La is in the shape of aparallelogram, and the reflective region 406Lb is also in the shape of aparallelogram. This is to say that a light shielding region 406Lc isformed so that the display region, the transmission region, and thereflective region are all in the shape of a parallelogram. A color layer406Lc is formed so that a through-hole 406Ld is also in the shape of theparallelogram.

A right eye pixel 406R and the left eye pixel 406L have the samestructure. Display pixels are then formed by the left eye pixels 406Land the right eye pixels 406R. Display units constructed from the lefteye pixels 406L and the right eye pixels 406R are then repeatedlyarranged along the X-axis direction.

Display units constructed from left eye pixels 407L and right eye pixels407R are then arranged at the −Y direction side of display unitsconstructed from the left eye pixels 406L and the right eye pixels 406R.The left eye pixels 407L are then arranged symmetrically to the left eyepixels 406L with respect to the Y-axis. The right eye pixels 407R havethe same structure as the left eye pixels 406L. Display unitsconstructed from the left eye pixels 407L and the right eye pixels 407Rare then repeatedly arranged along the X-axis direction. Display unitsconstructed from the left eye pixels 406L and the right eye pixels 406Rand display units constructed from the left eye pixels 407L and theright eye pixels 407R are then repeatedly arranged alternately along theY-axis direction.

In this embodiment, when two through-holes are arranged on the samestraight line by changing only a Y-coordinate without changing theX-coordinates of the through-hole 406Ld and the through-hole 407Ld, theheights of the openings of the through-holes, i.e. the widths in theY-axis direction, are always fixed and do not depend on the position inthe X-axis direction. The same is also the case for other through-holes.This is to say that this is characterized by utilizing display unitsneighboring along the Y-axis direction so that the width of thethrough-holes in the Y-axis direction is always fixed. In other words,the concept of neighboring pixel compensation disclosed in thethirteenth embodiment is utilized, and a structure that is the same asfor the first embodiment, i.e. a structure where the width of thethrough-holes in the Y-axis direction is fixed regardless of the X-axisposition is implemented. The structure of the eighteenth embodimentother than that described above is the same as for the thirteenthembodiment.

In this embodiment, the neighboring pixel compensation effect isutilized, and the actual height of the through-holes, i.e. the width inthe Y-axis direction, is fixed regardless of the X-axis direction. It istherefore possible to reduce the influence of the through-holes andhigh-quality displaying is possible. A minimum size for thethrough-holes is usually defined using process conditions for the colorlayers. Cases can therefore occur where the through-holes become toolarge when the heights of the through-holes are fixed regardless of theX-axis position at each pixel unit as disclosed in the first embodimentof the present invention. This corresponds, for example, to cases suchas panels where the definition is high. In this embodiment, the heightsof the through-holes are held fixed collectively with the neighboringpixels. It is therefore possible to keep the size of the through-holesfor each pixel small. This means that it is possible to implementreflective displaying of a high degree of color purity even in caseswhere the definition is high.

As in the seventeenth embodiment, it is possible to reduce the influenceof non-displaying regions existing between neighboring pixels along theX-axis direction that is the direction of splitting of the lenses andimproved visibility is possible. In the seventeenth embodiment, thelight shielding regions extending along the Y-axis direction are in theform of a zigzag line extending along the Y-axis direction. This zigzagline and a further zigzag line line-symmetrical to this zigzag line withrespect to the Y-axis are then arranged alternately along the X-axisdirection. With regards to this, in this embodiment, the point that thelight shielding region extending along the Y-axis direction isconstituted by a zigzag line extending in the Y-axis direction is thesame. However, the point that the same type of zigzag line is repeatedlyarranged in the X-axis direction is different.

In the event of the application of a lateral stripe structure to thecolor filter, it is preferable for the number of types of pixels wherethe positions of the through-holes in the Y-axis direction are differentand the number of colors for the color pixels to at least not be thesame number. More specifically, a relationship where the values cannotbe mutually divided is preferable, as in the thirteenth embodiment. Thismeans that compensation effects can effectively be demonstrated usingpixels that carry out the same role even with pixels that are notdirectly next to each other.

This embodiment can be similarly applied even to cases where each pixeltakes a rectangle as a basic element. The operation and effects of theeighteenth embodiment other than those described above are the same asfor the thirteenth embodiment.

Next, an explanation is given of a nineteenth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 57 is a plan view showing a display panel of thisembodiment. FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a display device ofthis embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 57 and 58, a semi-transmissive typeliquid crystal display panel 229 and a display device 119 of thenineteenth embodiment differ from the semi-transmissive type liquidcrystal display panel 223 and the display device 113 disclosed in thethirteenth embodiment with regards to the shape of the pixels, and inparticular the shape of the through-holes. However, the arrangement ofthe pixels is the same. The lenticular lens 33 of the seventh embodimentcan be used. As described previously, the focal length of thecylindrical lenses constituting the lenticular lens is smaller than thedistance between the main point of the lens and the pixel plane for thelenticular lens 33.

In the eighteenth embodiment, when two types of the through-holepositioned in the Y-axis direction are positioned on the same straightline while keeping the X-axis coordinate as is, the merged openingheights of the two types of through-holes are constant for any X-axiscoordinates. With regards to this, in the nineteenth embodiment, theopening heights are not constant for any X-coordinate even whenthrough-holes positioned in the Y-axis direction are merged.Specifically, as shown in the seventh embodiment, this givesthrough-holes that are subdivided in the X-axis direction. It istherefore possible to make variations in the height of the openings ofthe through-holes uniform by making the focal length of the cylindricallenses small. In other words, this embodiment combines the concept ofneighboring pixel compensation disclosed in the thirteenth embodimentwith the concept of subdivided through-holes and defocusing lensesdisclosed in the seventh embodiment. It is therefore possible to applythe third to seventh embodiments with regards to setting of the radiusof curvature of the lens. That is, in this embodiment, it is preferableto select a through-hole opening width and a value with respect to acomposite image for the through-holes of pixels neighboring in theY-axis direction. The structure of the nineteenth embodiment other thanthat described above is the same as for the thirteenth embodiment.

It is therefore possible to provide compatibility with through-holes ofa still smaller surface area than in the eighteenth embodiment byarranging the focal lengths of the cylindrical lenses constituting thelenticular lens so as to be offset from the pixel plane. With regards tothe heights of the openings the plurality of through-holes are composedof being uniform regardless of the X-axis coordinates of the eighteenthembodiment, in the nineteenth embodiment it is also possible to providecompatibility with the through-holes subdivided in the X-axis direction.As a result, this embodiment can provide compatibility with increases inthe definition and reflective displays with a high degree of colorpurity can be implemented. The operation and effects of the nineteenthembodiment other than those described above are the same as for thethirteenth embodiment.

Each of the embodiments described above can be implemented independentlyor can be implemented in combination as is appropriate.

1. A display panel comprising: a plurality of display units including atleast pixels for displaying a first viewpoint image and pixels fordisplaying a second viewpoint image arranged in the shape of a matrix;an optical member, for splitting in mutually different directions lightemitted from each pixel within the display unit provided along a firstdirection along which the pixels for displaying the first viewpointimage and the pixels for displaying the second viewpoint image arearranged; and color filter layers each provided at at least the displayregion of each pixel, the color filter layers each being provided with athrough-hole, wherein a plurality of pixels for displaying an image forthe same viewpoint include some pixels whose relative position in thefirst direction of the through-holes within the pixels is different to arelative position of other pixels in the first direction of thethrough-holes within the pixels, and wherein the plurality of pixels fordisplaying the image for the same viewpoint includesymmetrically-located pixels with respect to a line segment extending ina second direction, the second direction being orthogonal to the firstdirection on a display plane of the display panel.
 2. The display panelaccording to claim 1, wherein the pixels of the display panel exhibit aparallelogram shape, and pixels neighboring in the second direction havea line-symmetrical relationship with respect to the line segmentextending from the second direction.
 3. The display panel according toclaim 1, wherein the through-holes are arranged so that a total valuefor an opening width of the through-holes in the second direction issubstantially constant when each through-hole is combined whilstretaining the relative positions thereof in the first direction, in eachpixel neighboring in the second direction.
 4. The display panelaccording to claim 1, wherein the optical member does not have an imageforming relationship with the pixels.
 5. A display device comprising thedisplay panel disclosed in claim
 1. 6. A terminal device comprising thedisplay device disclosed in claim
 5. 7. The display panel according toclaim 1, wherein the relative position and shape of the through-holesoccurring at each pixel have a line-symmetrical relationship withrespect to a line segment extending in the second direction with regardsto pixels neighboring the second direction.
 8. A display panelcomprising: a plurality of display units including at least pixels fordisplaying a first viewpoint image and pixels for displaying a secondviewpoint image arranged in the shape of a matrix; an optical member,for splitting in mutually different directions light emitted from eachpixel within the display unit provided along a first direction alongwhich the pixels for displaying the first viewpoint image and the pixelsfor displaying the second viewpoint image are arranged; and color filterlayers each provided at at least the display region of each pixel, thecolor filter layers each being provided with a through-hole, wherein thethrough-hole adopts a shape divided with respect to the first directionwithin each pixel, and a plurality of pixels for displaying a sameviewpoint image includes some pixels whose relative position in thefirst direction of the through-hole within the pixels is different to arelative position of other pixels in the first direction of the throughhole within the pixels.